


Breaking the Ice

by SunnyHighlighter



Series: Breaking the Ice [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:08:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 43,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25874146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunnyHighlighter/pseuds/SunnyHighlighter
Summary: Reader is a kunoichi who fled her village, hiding her true identity. She does not like expressing her emotions and tends to have internal monologues in her mind.Although she has no desire to resume the kunoichi life, the tables have turned after an ordinary night at her job.*Still updating but life happened - will be a bit slow, sorry!!*I do not own Naruto and the associated characters.
Relationships: Akatsuki (Naruto)/Reader, Deidara (Naruto)/Reader, Hidan (Naruto)/Reader, Hoshigaki Kisame/Reader, Kakuzu (Naruto)/Reader, Konan (Naruto)/Reader, Pain (Naruto)/Reader, Sasori (Naruto)/Reader, Tobi (Naruto)/Reader, Uchiha Itachi/Reader, Zetsu (Naruto)/Reader
Series: Breaking the Ice [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1976875
Comments: 121
Kudos: 315





	1. Caught off Guard

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my very first time writing fanfiction, so I sincerely apologize for bad writing (and cringe!!)

It was a regular night at the busy bar you worked at. Every night, you played the koto on stage. Some of bar patrons drank themselves to oblivion, while others watched you eagerly. You didn't really pay much attention to them as you were too focused on what you loved doing most – playing the koto. You were a person of few words; you seldom spoke your mind but playing the koto allowed you to express your feelings, whether it was happiness, melancholy, or grief. Whenever you played, you felt like you were in a world of your own. The owner of the bar told you that you had the magical ability to captivate the audience with your passionate playing, attracting loyal patrons at the bar. As such, your boss was adamant that you played every night, which was a pretty awesome offer. It paid for your living expenses, providing you with a peaceful life in a civilian town doing what you loved most…

Suddenly, the atmosphere at the bar changed, leading you to snap out of your thoughts. You immediately sensed something dangerous, but you couldn't put a finger to it. You gracefully ended the song you were playing, and the audience clapped. Automatically, you began playing your next song, however, this time, you played a song that reflected your tenseness. Your hands and fingers automatically glided across the instrument, playing a song that was urgent and full of excitement. You carefully eyed the audience members, and that was when you noticed two mysterious fingers at the back, watching you play. The moment you laid eyes on them, you knew they were shinobi, judging by their chakra signature. You could not really make out their features as they stood in the shadows, but you could tell they were tall, and it appeared they were wearing matching cloaks.

 _Strange, shinobi hardly come to this small civilian town… Let alone this dingy-ass bar…_ , you thought to yourself. You continued playing your song, anxiously waiting for your shift to end. The two shinobi were making you very nervous… you were wondering if they knew your true identity.

After playing another three songs and receiving loud applause, you were free to leave. You carefully glanced at the audience members to see if the two mysterious shinobi were still there. Thankfully, they were gone. _Maybe I was overreacting… I should stop being overly paranoid…_ you silently chastised yourself as you packed your koto.

You went to look for your boss at the back of the bar, waving to get his attention to let him know you are leaving.

“Great playing tonight! See you tomorrow, Yuki!” he said. You nodded your head in acknowledgement and left the bar.

You started walking your usual route home, but you sensed something strange… It felt as if you were being watched. You immediately tensed up and kept walking, but your shinobi senses immediately told you two people were silently following you. _Should I keep walking and pretend to be oblivious and pretend to be a civilian, or fight?,_ you contemplated in your head.

If you kept walking, there’s a chance the two individuals might catch you off guard and use that chance to kill you. You weren’t ready to lose your life at 20 years old… So, you turned around and saw two figures at a comfortable distance from you. You immediately recognized them as the two shinobi from the bar who wore matching cloaks. Under the moonlight, you were able to see their features clearly. Both men wore black cloaks with red cloud designs on the front and they were much taller than you were. One man had silver hair and had some sort of huge scythe on his back. The other man was even taller, and he had a mask on, but his eyes were a strange combination of green and red. Judging by their size and odd choice of weaponry, you knew you were at a disadvantage. That’s when you decided to speak.

“Hi gentlemen, are you looking for something?” You asked innocently. If there was one thing you were good at, it was acting. I mean, your whole act was pretending to be an unassuming civilian, using a pseudonym of “Yuki” … In fact, that is why you have chosen this town as your home.

“Well I’m fucking glad you asked! You’re the tramp we’re looking for! Let’s make things easy and just come with us,” said the silver-haired man. You were taken aback by the vulgar language he used, but the overwhelming fear you felt consumed your mind… _These guys definitely know I have a bounty on my head… Frick. Play it cool, play it cool…_

“I’m sorry, but I think you’re looking for the wrong person. I have never seen either of you before,” you said calmly, trying not to expose your panicked state.

“Look, we don’t have all day to play stupid games. We know who you are and if you don’t come with us, we’re gonna have to use more aggressive means, ya hear me?” the silver haired man spoke impatiently. The two figures started advancing towards you. Almost instantly, your fight or flight senses kicked in. You silently swore to yourself; your scrolls of ninja weapons were inside your koto bag and retrieving them from your bag at this moment made no sense at all. _Shit, shit, shit, shit. They know who I am… I guess I will have to flee!_

Immediately, you put your hands together to form hand signs, and you silently murmured, _Ice style, crystal mist!_ You blew a thick mist from your mouth that surrounded the area, leaving low visibility for those around you. You heard your pursuers swear as you immediately jumped at top speed onto the roof of the buildings and straight to the forest ahead. You made it into the forest, and adrenaline was pumping through your body as you jumped from tree to tree. _Just have to lose them somehow…_ you thought silently. It was difficult jumping in your yukata, but it didn’t matter, you just had to run.

Just as you thought you lost them, A large scythe suddenly came at you and you dodged at the last minute – it sliced through the sleeve of your yukata and your arm bled a little. _Damn, they caught up!_ You mentally cursed as you sensed two figures coming after you. You weaved hand signs, forming ice shards and aimed them at the pursuers behind you.

“Ah she’s a feisty lil bitch, ain’t she?!” you recognized the voice as the silvered hair man. He continued, “I swear to Jashin, she is definitely going to pay for being so damn troublesome!”

You were too occupied by outrunning the two emerging figures and failed to realize thick, black ropes that were grabbing you, tying your arms and legs. You grunted as you fell onto the forest ground. You were struggling to get loose as the ropes grabbed you tightly. You mentally cursed at your current predicament, angry of how useless you felt squirming on the ground.

An immense pain to your right hand knocked you back to your senses. You clenched your teeth and looked at your hands and they were bleeding… You realized no one was physically attacking you. Then, another sharp pain jolted you… This time it was your right thigh. Blood seeped through your clothing, dying the fabric red. You yelped as you failed to see anyone attacking you… _What the hell is going on?! What jutsu are they using on me?_ You couldn’t see who was doing this, but you heard two voices speak from behind you.

“Careful, Hidan… You can’t kill her. We have to bring her back alive.” A deep voice spoke.

”Yea, yea, you don’t have to remind me, Kakuzu. Man, she would’ve been a great sacrifice to Jashin… But don’t worry, I handicapped her enough so she can’t pull funny tricks on us… Let me just stab another part…” the silver-haired man spoke, and he followed with an evil cackle. You felt another sharp pain, but this time, it was your abdomen. Slowly your yukata became a red mess. You screamed out, and your vision was slowly being consumed by blackness.

Your tense body instantly became slumped, and the black ropes were released from your body. The taller man, named Kakuzu, picked up your limp body and slung you over his shoulder. The other man, Hidan, removed a rod from his abdomen and was feeling slightly dejected that he couldn’t sacrifice you to his beloved Jashin. He shrugged, swearing that he will find another person to sacrifice tomorrow. He went to pick up your belongings and followed Kakuzu into the depths of the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, thank you for reading the story!! ~ A few things to note:  
> \- TBH my knowledge on kotos is 0 but I didnt want to make reader a pianist because it seemed out of place hehe  
> \- I know there is a lot of ambiguity with reader's backstory, but don't worry! More information about her story will be told in future chapters.  
> \- I know in the actual Naruto story, only Haku has ice style kekkei genkai, but I always thought his kekkei genkai was one of the coolest :P  
> \- I don't really know where this story will end up... So stay tuned XD


	2. Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader has been brought back to the Akatsuki base, meeting another Akatsuki member, Konan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope y'all are doing well! Just a heads up, this chapter will be longer than the first one, so bear with me! :)

You were awoken by someone aggressively pulling your (h/c) hair.

“Wake your damn ass up, bitch! You’ve been out for hours!” You recognized the voice as Hidan, one of the men who captured you.

You opened your eyes to bright light, squinting your eyes as they slowly adjust to the new environment. You noted that you were inside a room you did not recognize… And you saw Hidan, who let go of your hair roughly. You tried to move your arms and legs, but they were bound by rope.

“If you listened to us like a good girl, you wouldn’t be in the sorry state you are now…” he sneered, smiling at your face of defeat.

“Hidan, move. I need to talk to her,” said a feminine voice you did not recognize. Hidan grunted and moved aside. A beautiful woman with purple hair and amber eyes stood in front of you. You noted that she wore the same cloak as the two people who captured you. _Is this some sort of weird cult?_ You thought to yourself.

“(y/n).” she spoke. Your eyes widened and you nearly choked.

“How do you know my name?!” you blurted. You usually wouldn’t react so rashly, but no one called you that ever since you ran away from your village five years ago. You did everything to hide your true identity: you moved from village to village, changed the way you dressed, and even went by a fake name for nearly 5 years.

The woman didn’t show an ounce of emotion at your state of shock. _Damn, someone is less emotional than I am…_ You thought to yourself, although this was probably the worst time to joke… You were unsure of their intentions and your death was a possible outcome.

“We know your true identity. You are a rogue ninja from a small village in the Land of Water and one of the last shinobi with the ice release kekkei genkai. It also came to our attention that you have a hefty bounty over your head.” she calmly relayed that information to you. You were flabbergasted; _how does this woman know so much information about me!_

“What are you going to do with me?” You questioned; you didn’t like how things were playing out, now that it’s a known fact you are a wanted kunoichi. 

“We are offering a spot for you in our organization, the Akatsuki. We can protect you from bounty hunters, and in turn, you help us achieve our goal. How does that sound?” she offered.

You narrowed your eyes. You escaped the shinobi life after doing some terrible things, only to hide amongst civilians and enjoyed a peaceful life. You promised your mother that you would hide your kekkei genkai, and to only to use it during times of desperation.

As if reading your mind, the woman continued, “If you don’t take this offer, we can always offer you the alternative: Kakuzu can take your body to the bounty collector if you'd like.” You froze, knowing that would be the last thing you’d want.

You hesitated, but you ultimately agreed by nodding your head slowly. You hated that you feared death to the extent you agree to join this weird cult.

“Good. It will be a pleasure working with you. Hidan, Kakuzu, take (y/n) to her new room. I will come by with a cloak for you later.” You watched as the lady suddenly turned into pieces of paper, dissipating into the air. “By the way, my name is Konan,” she said right before she disappeared into thin air.

You were numbed by the entire ordeal, wondering what the heck just happened. As you sat there confused, Kakuzu took a kunai and cut the ropes from your hands and legs. He didn’t speak a word to you, and when he was done, he stood up, and turned his back to you as he headed towards the door. You shakily stood up, but you were about to fall over from the sudden rush of pain you felt. Thankfully, someone caught you before you landed onto the ground. You turned your head slightly and it was the Hidan guy, smirking at you. You remembered that you had sustained multiple injuries from the ruckus that happened last night. You couldn’t help but physically flinch from his touch, you didn’t trust this man.

“Ya should feel grateful I didn’t kill you last night,” he said, sensing your distress. “You’re gonna need some patching up”. You then remembered that the guy didn’t physically attack you… You were tempted to ask him what he did to you, but you were no mood to talk. You were covered in blood, your body ached, and you were basically forced to join this organization...

Hidan wrapped your arm around his shoulder and walked you down the hall, following Kakuzu. You noted that he was carrying your koto bag. You were surprised, you totally forgot about your beloved koto.

As you trudged down the hall, you thought to yourself, _Man, what did I get myself into?_ _I guess I’ll find out soon enough…_

_\---------------------------------_

With your body weakened due to the multiple injuries, Hidan pulled you along with your arm around his shoulder. He was talking to you, but you missed everything he said. You were too preoccupied about how your new “home” looked. _Kami, this place is so gloomy and gross! I miss my old place, at least I had proper lighting! Oh crap, who’s going to water my house plants?!_

“Hey bitch, you know it’s rude to ignore someone when they’re talking to you, right?” snapped Hidan.

“Sorry…” you murmured quietly, but you weren’t actually sorry… You didn’t give any shits about what he has to say, and you hated how he kept referring you as a derogatory term. He continued to ramble on about something called Jashin not forgiving him for letting you live.

Kakuzu led you to your new room. It was extremely minimalist; there was a futon, a closet, a mirror, a desk, and a chair. In front of your desk, there was a small window. _Well at least I can get some natural lighting in this dingy room…_

“Alright, here is your room.” Kakuzu grumbled, then left without another word. _One guy talks too much, and one guy doesn’t talk at all… What an interesting combination._

Hidan dragged you into your room and dropped you down onto your futon like a rag doll. You winced as pain shot through your body, but Hidan looked satisfied at your discomfort. “Deserving for an ungrateful bitch,” he said. Ironically, he put your belongings down onto the ground with more care. _I hate this guy already! I swear I will fricken kick that smug look off his face…!_

“Anyway, I will be back with some first-aid supplies, so don’t try to pull any funny business…” he said as he walked out of your room. You rolled your eyes when he wasn’t looking, and you closed your eyes. You quickly learned that he enjoyed watching you suffer and you weren't in the mood to listen to him talk, so you might as well pretend to be sleeping. _He will leave the supplies in my room when he realizes I’m sleeping… Then I won’t have to deal to his bullshit._ You internally patted yourself on the back for your “clever” plan.

You heard footsteps entering your room again, and as he walked closer, his scent wafted towards you. You were expecting him to drop off the first-aid items, but you heard him plop down next to you. _Why isn’t he leaving?!_ you thought silently.

Taking you by surprise, you felt his rough hands grab your injured right hand. A strong smell of anti-septic assaulted your nostrils, preparing you for the sting that you were about to feel. You didn't wince, but it certainly did hurt like a bitch. He then wrapped your injured hand in bandages, tying the loose ends, and placed your hand to your side. _Wow, I didn’t expect him to help me… But it’s not like I needed it anyway…_

There was a momentary pause in movement. “Augh… this bitch…” you heard him silently mumble. Before you knew it, you felt a hand pulling on the obi of your yukata. As if you were possessed by the devil, your eyes immediately shot wide open and your hand grabbed his wrist to prevent any further movement. Your sudden movement shocked him, and he stared back at you with bewilderment.

“I thought you were fucking sleeping!” he yelled. You could not think of a reply; if you were being honest, you felt a bit embarrassed that your plan backfired, so you looked away sheepishly. He continued, “And don’t think so highly of yourself, I wasn’t going to perv on you… Unless you wanted me to…” You saw a sly smile appear on his face.

You immediately let go of his hand and swatted it away like it was contaminated. _What kind of lowlife comment was that?_ “I can take it from here, thanks for your help. You can leave now.” You said as you glared at him. He shrugged and stood up.

“Most chicks would’ve been grateful that I’ve graced them with my touch, consider yourself lucky,” he said as he walked out of your room, closing the door behind him.

You outwardly gagged at his comment. _What a disgusting scumbag! I swear having my body sent to the bounty collector would’ve been the better alternative at this rate…_

Shaking off that unpleasant interaction you just had, you stood up from the futon and began to gingerly remove your bloodied clothing, dropping the items onto the ground. You noticed the nasty gashes on your body, but thankfully they weren’t deep injuries. You wiped down your injuries with the antiseptic, took the needle and thread from the first aid supplies, and then you began suturing yourself.

Once you were done, you walked over to your koto bag and unpacked your belongings. Inside your bag, you had various scrolls. A few scrolls held various ninja weapons, such as kunai, shuriken, and senbon. You also had a scroll that carried necessities, such as food pills, money, pajamas and spare undergarments (those are essential, ok?). You also had another scroll where it held your clothing, including your ninja garb. You always carried these items with you, as you never knew when you would migrate to another town in the future.

Unrolling your clothing scroll, you summoned the items: bindings, ninja sandals, a mesh undershirt, a black haori jacket, and a pair of flared black shorts. There was also a pouch that you can strap around your thigh that holds various ninja weapons. Lastly, there was a headband from Kirigakure, with a scratch across the village symbol. The headband did not belong to you as you were never formally trained as a ninja; it belonged to your mother.

You put on your clothes carefully to ensure that you won’t reopen your wounds. You tied the headband around your neck. You walked over to the mirror and had immediate flashbacks to your past. Your knees buckled at the thoughts rushing into your head, unable to suppress them any longer...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed the little Hidan interactions! Don't worry, the other members will make an appearance soon T_T!!  
> Feel free to leave comments! Always appreciated ^_^  
> Next chapter will talk about reader's history, so stay tuned!


	3. Memories of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After joining the Akatsuki, reader experiences flashbacks into her childhood and events that led up to her current patterns of behavior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter is very long as it talks about reader's past!
> 
> Trigger warnings: domestic abuse and violence.
> 
> This chapter is pretty dark... so if you do not feel comfortable reading about the themes mentioned above, please feel free to skip this chapter! 
> 
> More light-hearted stuff is in the works!

_You sat numbly as your thoughts were flooded by your past memories._

To retell your tale, it is only logical to begin with the story of your mother. Your mother was a former kunoichi from Kirigakure of the Land of Water. She was a member of the revered Yuki Clan, who were known for the Ice Release kekkei genkai. Although a formidable ability, those who were “cursed” with the Ice Release bloodline were greatly feared due to the civil war that has marred the country, leading to the ostracization and eventual massacre of the clan members. Your mother was fully aware of the ongoing witch hunt and the only way to escape her premature death was to run away. As such, she packed her life away in a small bag and ran as far as she could.

She began her new life in a small town situated at the border of the Land of Water and took on the life as a civilian. Thankfully, your mother possessed other skills aside from Shinobi skills; she was also a very talented koto player as it was a skill passed down generations in your family. Thus, while living in the town, she worked as a musician playing in a popular restaurant in the town, stowing away her past as a kunoichi.

While working at the restaurant, that was where she met your father, Takeshi. Takeshi was a charismatic and handsome man, and he was enraptured by your mother’s performances and physical beauty. Perhaps intoxicated by loneliness, it did not take long for your mother to fall in love. Unbeknownst to her, she didn’t realize Takeshi was a married man and already had a family. However, by the time she found out, a byproduct of their love affair was created – your mother was pregnant with you. Your mother was elated by the news as she always dreamt of becoming a mother. Takeshi, on the other hand, was angry beyond belief. He did not want to have another child, especially through a love affair; this would greatly tarnish his reputation in the town and cause turmoil within his already existing family. He threatened to kill your mother if she kept the baby, but after several tearful pleas, your mother succeeded in convincing Takeshi to keep the child, as long as the identity of the father was never revealed.

After 10 months, (y/n) was born.

_Perceptions of Mom_

From as early as you could remember, you knew of your mother as a loving and doting woman. Your mother saw you as the angel God had gifted her. There was no greater joy to her than watching you grow up – saying your first words, taking your first steps, and taking on the world like a carefree child. She wanted to give you everything you wanted, as your happiness was the most important thing to her. Reciprocating her love, your mother was everything to you. You enjoyed spending every waking moment with her.

At the age of three, though your perception of morals was not yet developed, but you were perceptive, and your mind constantly wandered. Your mom decided to teach you different skills to keep your young mind distracted. Since your mom worked during the night, she spent the day with you and taught you a variety of skills, such as reading and writing, and playing the koto. As per family tradition, learning the koto was an essential skill. Luckily for you, this skill came naturally to you. Perhaps it was because your mom constantly played the koto during her pregnancy, you picked up the skill quickly, having memorized a repertoire of songs by the time you were four.

_Perceptions of Dad_

Your relationship with your father was the antithesis of the relationship you had with your mother. From your earliest memories, you only remembered fearing your father. From the rare occasions he visited you and your mother, you only remembered his irritation towards you and your mother. From a young age, your perception skills told you that your dad harbored a sense of resentment towards you. You never actually understood what caused it, but you certainly felt the symptoms of such ill feelings. He never looked at you in a manner of love, only hatred. Whenever you tried to show signs of affection towards him, he was irritated and told your mother to get you out of his sight. Lastly, your father had told you to never acknowledge him in public, even eye contact was strictly forbidden.

However, his resentment towards you was not the worst of it all. Ingrained in your young mind were the multiple times you have witnessed your father’s abuse towards your mother. From degrading comments to physically attacking your mother, you always watched helplessly, hiding, and crying. You always begged for your father to stop, only inciting further damage to your mother. Whenever his fits of rage died down, you would crawl to your weeping mother and snuggle into her, trying to comfort her, even though you knew that would not ease the pain. From a young age, you always felt useless and you began to cultivate a sense of self-hatred for being unable to protect the one who you loved the most.

_Betrayal_

By the time you were age five, you started interacting with other kids in the town who were your age, as your mother believed it was important for you to socialize with others. You loved playing with the other kids and even became “best friends” with Kiko. In your eyes, Kiko was the most perfect girl. She exuded happiness and confidence, which were qualities that you wished you had. Modelling your life after Kiko, you hid your terrible family life from the other kids, desperately wanting to fit in.

Though this enjoyment was short-lived. As the saying goes, “kids will be kids”. Kiko eventually found out you were the daughter of a single mother, as gossip was a frequent pastime of townsmen. Kiko eventually banded with your other friends and treated you as an outcast, calling your mother names that should not be said by a child. Angered by their insults towards your mother, you shouted back at them.

“Don’t you dare call my mom that!” you screamed, with tears streaming down your face.

“And what are you going to do about it, bastard?” one of the kids sneered.

Unable to contain your anger, you charged towards them, but one of the bigger kids knocked you down, causing you to scrape your hands and knees. You were surrounded by all the kids, laughing in your face.

“You aren’t one of us, so don’t talk to us anymore. My mom told me not to associate myself with lowlifes.” Kiko said coldly. The kids began kicking dirt into your face, saying that was what you deserved as a “dirty” child. Your self-hatred became exponential; you couldn’t protect the one you loved most, and now, you couldn’t even protect yourself. _What kind of useless scum am I?_

\---

You ran home immediately after that incident. You tried to sneak back into your house to prevent your mother from questioning your disheveled state. However, you didn’t know your mother was a skilled kunoichi who was quick to notice suspicious behavior. Sensing your skittish movements, your mother called you out.

“(y/n). Come here right now.” She called. You noted that she sounded stern. You were not one to defy your mother, so you slowly walked to the direction of her voice.

When you were in the same room as your mother, you looked down at the ground in an ashamed manner, and nervously grabbed the hem of your shirt with your injured hands. Your mother gasped at your tattered clothes and injuries.

“(y/n), what on earth happened to you?!” she tried to sound calm, but you noted the edge in her voice.

“I-it’s n-nothing, m-mom…” You stuttered. She grabbed your small body and enveloped you in her arms. Your mother’s warm embrace comforted you, and you couldn’t help crying. You wailed, telling her the truth of what happened. Your mother released you from her strong hold and looked you in the eye.

“(y/n). Whatever those kids said to you, it is not true. You deserve all the happiness and love in life. The mistakes that I have made do not define who you are. You are the greatest pride and love of my life, never forget that.” Your mother’s gaze was strong and said every word with a level of conviction that was even understood by you, who was merely five at the time.

She continued, “I will teach you skills so you can protect yourself when people treat you badly, ok? But you have to promise to use them only ever in defense, and to never attack anyone, you understand?” your mother said. You nodded. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up and tomorrow will be a new day.”

\---

Early next morning, your mother brought you to a secluded forest in the outskirts of town.

“Now, (y/n). I want to demonstrate to you some the skill of a kunoichi, okay?” she said. You nodded excitedly; five-year-old you did not know what a kunoichi was, but you were convinced that anything your mother did was amazing.

With the blink of your eye, your mother jumped up and disappeared. A sudden sensation of fear took over your body as your mother was no longer in sight. You panicked, looking around, screaming for your mom. Suddenly, a kunai whizzed out of no where, landing precisely near your foot. You jumped back and yelped. Your attention was soon whisked away by the sound of several consecutive knocks into a tree. You looked up and noticed 10 shuriken lined up in a vertical straight line down the trunk. You were amazed but terrified; who was doing this?!

“(y/n),” you heard your mother call. You followed the sound of the voice and noticed your mother was crouching on a thick tree branch of a tree located behind you. Your eyes widened; how did your mother get up there? You watched her leap down gracefully, landing next to you. You were speechless, amazed by what you just saw. Wordlessly, your mother picked you up and jumped to a nearby river. Carrying you, she placed her foot onto the water… And you noticed she was _walking_ on top of the water. Your jaw dropped. Walking back to the river bank and placing you down, smiling at your surprised face.

“Would you like to learn these skills, dear?” she asked. You nodded fervently. You have never seen such abilities before, and you were very eager to learn.

Ever since that day, your mom taught you chakra control, taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, and bukijutsu. Whenever your mom demonstrated her skills, your eyes widened in awe; she was so beautiful and graceful, but extremely deadly. She was your idol, and you wanted to be just like your mom when you grow up. As such, you diligently practiced the various techniques she had taught you every single day, as long as you promised to practice secretly. Your mother noticed your quick grasp at such skills and started teaching you basic jutsus. With your newfound skills, you felt confident.

However, there was something that irked you. Your mother was clearly powerful and dangerous; she had every ability to defend herself – why did she let your father treat her so cruelly? You couldn’t help but ask her.

“Mom, with your amazing shinobi abilities, why haven't you ever defended yourself when _he_ treats you like that?” you asked. Your mother had a distant gaze in her eyes. You were still so young and she did not want to discuss such heavy topics with you. As such, she merely reminded you that the skills you learned were to be kept a secret and never to be used unless your life was on the line. You hid your disappointment, but you did not pry. You continued to diligently practice what your mother has taught you.

_Discovery_

It was one ordinary day when you were 8, and you were walking in the marketplace with your mother to buy groceries. While your mother was browsing produce at a stall, you decided to wander off on your own. That was when you noticed a familiar voice, of which belonged to your father. However, you noted that the tone of voice was jovial and sounded… _loving_. The voice became closer to where you stood and you noticed your father, with a girl who was a little bit older than you, and another woman. You noticed that your father held the young girl’s hand and his eyes were crinkled from smiling at her. The other woman looked at your father and the girl lovingly. You have never seen your father this happy before, and you were in dumbstruck. You quickly gathered that the girl was his daughter, and the woman was his wife. Your father and his family eventually walked past you, not even noticing your presence. Although you knew better not to acknowledge him, you couldn’t help feeling a deep sense of hurt and emptiness.

The next day, your father made one of his visits to your home. His behaviour was a stark contrast to what you had witnessed yesterday. He was cold, demeaning, and you couldn’t help but feel like a nuisance in his presence. You decided to retreat to your room, as you couldn’t stand being in the same room as him. However, the peace you felt was temporary as you heard glass shattering, and soon ensued was your father yelling at your mother, and your mother weeping.

You shrunk onto the floor, clasping your ears and squeezing your eyes shut; you did not want to witness the abuse anymore. Your breathing was heavy as you wanted the sound of your breath to overtake the cries of pain from your mom. You started whispering to yourself, telling yourself everything was okay as tears glided down your face. Perhaps from the overexertion of energy, you did not realize that you had passed out.

You were awoken by gentle shakes, and a soft voice calling your name, recognizing it was your mother’s voice. You opened your eyes slightly, to see your mother’s beautiful face tarnished by a black eye, but you noticed that she had an anxious expression. You sat up and noticed something strange…

You looked around and saw your entire room was covered in snow and ice – icicles hung from your door frame, and the flower you kept at your windowsill became frozen. Terrified, you looked at your mother.

“W-what happened?” you asked in a dazed manner.

“(y/n), you are a descendent of the Yuki Clan. However... You have to promise me that you will never tell anyone,” was the only thing your mother said to you.

\---

Your mother was devastated you had inherited such abilities, but she decided it was her responsibility to teach you how to control your kekkei genkai. She taught you how to control two nature elements that made up Ice Release: water and wind. After teaching you how to control these abilities, she only taught you the basic jutsus that allowed you to make weapons from ice.

However, you felt that there was so much more to your abilities than your mother was teaching you. Whenever your mother left for work during the evenings, you snuck into her room and snooped her drawers. In her drawers, you found several things: a ninja headband, her diary, and multiple scrolls.

The first thing you read was her diary. From her diary, you learned of her past as a Kirigakure kunoichi, the fate of the Yuki clan, how she met your father, and lastly, her affection towards you. You soon understood why she made you promise to never use your shinobi skills in public, nor declaring your lineage as a Yuki clan member. All these things made you resent the world and any higher beings, as it seems like your mother was destined to suffer.

The next thing you tackled were the ninja scrolls. Within these scrolls were secret Yuki clan techniques, which were all very deadly. You eagerly read them all and memorized the hand signs. You made sure to place them exactly the way you found them before your mother returned from work. This pattern of snooping continued, and you would secretly practice these ninjutsus during the night. By the time you were 12, you perfected every single one of the ninjutsus, while hiding this fact from your mother.

Perhaps already having all the skills that you needed, you cultivated another unhealthy obsession after honing your kekkei genkai. Every night, you went to your father’s home and stealthily perched on a tree, watching his interactions with his family through the window. You would sit there for hours as you spun a kunai around your finger, watching your father laugh and smile with his daughter, who he seemed so proud of. You wondered if they knew how much of a monster he truly was, or if they knew of your existence. There was a stark contrast of how he treated his wife versus your mother; he doted on his wife while he beat your mother. You heard him call his wife “darling”, while he called your mother a whore. With each night that passed, your resentment towards him grew.

_The Plan_

Your father’s abuse continued into your teenage years. It took every ounce of self-restraint to control the urge to kill your father. But you knew your mother would be very disappointed if you defied her wishes. You slowly retreated into your own mind, creating a bubble for yourself. You didn’t speak your thoughts or showed any emotions, because secretly, you were planning something.

You seldom spoke to your mother as you spent most of your time in the forest, practicing your shurikenjutsu and ninjutsu. When you came home from practicing, your mother would leave for work. Your mother had noticed your absence around home, but she didn’t think much of it, attributing your behavior to your transition into your teenage years.

\---

It was one regular afternoon when you decided to act on your plan. Wearing your shinobi garb, you left the house swiftly and made yourself to your destination – your father’s house. During this time, you knew your father was still at work, based on the pattern from the 3 years of "stealthy watching" you have done.

You arrived to your destination and eyed the perimeter for any nearby foliage for a particular room you were interested in. Finding a tree, you leapt up and crouched on the tree branch, near an open window that belonged to your half-sister, who was now 17. Her back was facing the window and you watched as she was trying on clothes from her closet. Swiftly, you jumped from the tree branch and entered into her room soundlessly through her window.

“Hello ane-san,” you called out.

Startled, she turned around and screamed.

“W-who are you?!” the girl yelled, staring at you, wide-eyed.

You slowly walked towards her shaking figure and then stood a comfortable distance from her. The bedroom suddenly door slid open, and her mother entered the room frantically. "Maiko-chan!" the woman called out. After several years, you finally learned the name of your half-sister. _Maiko, what a pretty name,_ you silently mused.

Immediately, you weaved hand signs with one hand, and you froze her mother, up to her neck. You made sure to have her conscious enough to witness what you were going to do. Her mother screamed, noting that she couldn’t move.

“Now that everyone is here, I will answer your question. I am your half-sister,” You said with a strangely calm voice.

“What do you mean? Who the hell are you? And what are you trying to do to my daughter?!” screamed the woman. She was clearly in a panicked state.

“Your husband, Takeshi, is my father. He had an affair with my mother 16 years ago,” you replied.

“You fucking liar! How dare you accuse my father of doing something so despicable?! Who the fuck are you and why are you trying to break up my family!” Maiko screamed hysterically.

That’s when you grabbed Maiko and you created a sharp shard of ice with your free hand. “I just thought you deserved to know the truth about your father and what kind of monster he is, before I end your life.” Finishing your speech, you took the ice shard and stabbed it into her heart. Oozing from the wound was her warm blood, a stark contrast to the ice you held in your hand. It was a new sensation to you; not one that you particularly enjoyed. Her mother screamed in agony, watching her daughter die before her own eyes. You knew how useless she must’ve felt at that moment, lamenting on your own experiences.

“You fucking monster! You will go to Hell for this!” her mother screamed, with tears streaming down her face.

You laughed cynically as you carelessly dropped your half-sister’s body onto the ground. “I know, there is a spot already reserved for me,” you said sarcastically. You unfroze her body and she immediately collapsed onto the ground, shaking from distress. “Your husband has tormented my mother for over a decade, and I’m giving him a taste of his own medicine,” you growled. You produced another sharp ice shard in your hand and without another word, you sliced her neck. The blood gushed onto your clothes, but you couldn’t care less. You took the two limp bodies in your arms and walked to the kitchen, dropping them onto the floor side by side. You took a seat at the kitchen table as you looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost time for your father to come home. You leaned into the back of the chair, crossing your legs, and closing your eyes, humming a cheerful tune as you waited patiently for his arrival.

Within five minutes, you heard the front door open, and heard your father say, “tadaima”. Jokingly, you replied, “okaeri”.

You opened your eyes as you felt your father’s presence at the front of the kitchen door. He was looking at the two bodies on the ground, then he looked at you. He collapsed onto the floor, cupping his daughter’s pale face as he cried uncontrollably. You heard him hyperventilate, perhaps trying to take in the gruesome scenery. 

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?” he screamed at you; his eyes filled with rage. You stared at him emotionlessly. You stood up and walked towards him.

“I thought I’d give you a little taste of your own medicine. How do you think I felt when I saw you beat my mom?” you asked, though you didn't expect an answer.

“You SICK FUCK! What the hell is wrong with you?! You are going to fucking die!” your father screamed at you. He stood up and attempted to lunge at you, but you froze him on the spot, immobilizing him. He grunted with frustration and stared at you. You inched towards him, brandishing new ice shards in your hands.

“Do you like how helpless you feel right now? Are you scared, papa?” you asked. You unfroze him, and he collapsed onto the floor. You knelt down next to him, and you immediately skewered a shard through his hand. He let out a blood curdling scream.

“This first stab is for the first time I witnessed you hurt my mom,” you said solemnly. Then, you used another ice shard and stabbed his other hand, causing another painful scream.

You didn’t stop. You continued producing ice shards and stabbed every inch of his body, each time representing a time you witnessed him abuse your mother. Blood splattered everywhere: your face, your clothes, the walls, and the floor. By the time you were done, he was nearly unrecognizable, and you were out of breath. The first part of your plan was complete.

Tired, you walked over to the kitchen sink and turned on the faucet. You washed the warm blood from your hands and face, watching the red swirl into the drain. You looked at the clock, and you hurried out of your father’s house. You had two more things to do.

Jumping on top of the rooves in the town, you made it back home just in time; before your mother left for work. Your mother was in the kitchen, and her back was facing you. With inhuman speed, you were behind your mom, and you held a kunai to where her heart was. She paused what she was doing, and acted calmly.

“(y/n), you’re home,” she said. She sounded solemn; noticing the thick scent of blood that enveloped you.

“Mom, I wanted to let you know that I loved you and always will. I'm sorry for defying your promises,” you said. You noticed your mother’s frame was shaking, but not from fear. She was crying. At that moment, you plunged the kunai into her heart, and she fell into your arms. You held her, hugging her for the last time, taking in her scent. Perhaps due to the many years of burying your emotions, you cannot find yourself crying; not a single tear was shed. The person you loved the most has left the world.

To you, you believed what you just did was an act of love. You wanted to free her from her suffering; you didn’t want her to suffer from the pain of knowing her daughter was a cruel murderer and to live with the consequences for the rest of her life. She deserved to go to heaven after all these years of suffering.

Gingerly placing her body down, you stripped of your bloodied clothes and went to your room to change into civilian clothes and a long cloak. You packed all the scrolls you’ve prepared in advance: ninja tools, ninja garb, the headband you took from your mother’s drawer, along with other essentials. You also went into your mother’s room and took her koto, which was already packed as your mother was preparing to leave for work before her death.

Within five minutes, you were out of the house. Before leaving, you lit a match and threw it towards your childhood home. _At the end of the day, fire burns ice_ , you lamented. You did not want villagers to raid your mother’s belongings and realize her true identity; you wanted her to die as a civilian.

Prior to departing the town, you quickly made way to one last destination – Kiko’s house. Kiko was sitting in the garden of her home all alone, admiring the full moon, looking beautiful as always.

As a farewell gift, you produced a senbon from your cloak pocket and threw it precisely into Kiko’s heart. You watched as she collapsed soundlessly, knowing her days on earth were over. Then, you gracefully leapt away, into the outskirts of the town. You never turned back.

\---

It took you three days to travel to a faraway town in the Land of Water. You hid your face under the hood of your cloak; was it from shame, or did you fear someone would recognize you? As you walked through the town, your ears picked up conversations among the civilians. From these conversations, you learned that you were now brandished as a rogue-nin on the loose, wanted for murdering residents of a civilian town, and you were also suspected for arson. _Cripes, I guess news does travel fast,_ you thought to yourself. You decided your past life shall be stowed away, and you shall now walk towards your new life as a civilian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thank you for reading this chapter! I sincerely apologize for its lengthiness but I wasn't sure how to convey her story more succinctly... :C
> 
> Hopefully this chapter gives an understanding about reader's tendency to have internal dialogues and her adversity against re-living her life as a kunoichi. 
> 
> Feel free to leave comments, always appreciated for feedback! ^_^


	4. Meeting the Akatsuki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With everyone back at the base, Konan decided it was fitting for (y/n) to meet the rest of the Akatsuki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well!
> 
> Re-cap: Reader got captured by the Akatsuki in chapter 1, then Konan "convinces" reader to join in chapter 2, and from chapter 3, reader experienced flashbacks into her past.
> 
> This chapter is a continuation of chapter 2~ Reader-chan finally gets to meet the rest of the Akatsuki!! Yay!!!

_No matter how hard you try to suppress the truth of your past, your identity as a murderer will follow you until the day you die._

_\---_

A knock on the door interrupted your trip down memory lane. Shaking your head from the trance, you stood up and walked over to the door to open it. You answered the door, and Konan was standing there, holding a black cloak in her hands.

“Hello, (y/n). As promised, I have brought you your cloak.” She handed the cloak to you, before continuing, “and while everyone is here at the base today, I shall introduce you to the rest of the Akatsuki.” You put the cloak on and zipped it up. The collar of the cloak covered almost half your face and the sleeves were long and wide, hiding your hands.

You followed Konan down the hall. _Other members? How many people are in this organization?_ you silently wondered. By the time you and Konan reached the common area, you noticed a congregation of people wearing the same cloak as you.

As you neared the crowd, the first thing you noticed was a giant venus fly trap, but with a GUY inside of it. What the heck! The second thing you noticed was that everybody was noticeably taller than you, and you felt like a child going to an adults-only party… With the exception of one member. You couldn’t tell what he was, but he had a tail that resembled a scorpion’s tail. With that said, you noticed that everyone in this group looked unique… Some more than others.

“Everybody, this is (y/n). She will be the latest addition to our group,” said Konan. Everyone in the group stared at you in an intimidating manner. Unsure of what to do, you bowed slightly out of respect.

“This squirt? Is she Akatsuki-material?” a deep voice called. Your eyes shifted to the person who said that. He was a very tall man with light-blue skin and judging by his size, you could tell he was very muscular. You noticed that he had strange markings on his face that resembled gills. You also took note of his headband; it shared the same symbol as your mother’s.

“She possesses the ice release kekkei genkai that would be useful for our missions,” Konan explained. As she spoke, you just stood there awkwardly, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. To be frank, you were nervous from the sudden scrutiny. 

“Ice release? I bet it doesn’t compare to my art, hmm!” another voice grunted. You looked over and saw a guy with long, luscious blond hair. His eye was a lovely colour of blue. However, he had a haughty expression. You silently wondered what kind of art he did.

“Shut up, Deidara. Nothing ever compares to your fucking ‘art’,” Hidan retorted. Clearly, Deidara didn’t like Hidan’s comment. Deidara walked over to Hidan and went right up to his face. “I’ll stick some clay up your ass and I’ll make sure you’ll appreciate that… Hmm!” Deidara threatened. Other members of the group snickered at the interaction. In your mind, you wanted to know what the clay would do… _Clog his asshole? So he becomes constipated?_ You internally snorted. You were a fan of your own jokes.

“… Anyway, going forward, (y/n) will be rotating between teams as needed. (y/n), your first mission will be with Hidan and Kakuzu tomorrow.” At that, you desperately wanted to roll your eyes. _OF COURSE I’m stuck with them…_ Then Konan continued, “Zetsu, we shall leave and report to Leader-sama now.” Konan disappeared in a poof and the plant-man disappeared into the ground. _Leader-sama? I wonder what kind of mega-freak runs this organization…_

You were now left alone with the rest of the Akatsuki members. You awkwardly stood there, unsure of what to do. You wished to run back into your room, but that would probably come off as rude. Suddenly, a member wearing an orange swirly mask ran up to you in an eccentric manner and grabbed your hands with his gloved ones. You were taken aback by his gesture.

“(y/n)-chan!! Nice to meet you and welcome to the Akatsuki!! My name is Tobi!! It’s been a while since we’ve had new members~ I bet it will be lots of fun having you around!” he exclaimed, shaking your hands enthusiastically.

“H-hi Tobi, nice to meet you,” you said shyly. You weren’t used to so much enthusiasm. He was a stark contrast to the other members. Based on first impressions, Tobi seemed childish and overly friendly; like a kid brother. Admittedly, his enthusiasm did warm your cold heart. He seemed to be excited that you were the team’s latest addition, unlike the other members.

“Oi, Tobi, you’re scaring the newbie with your antics, un.” Deidara said, grabbing the masked man by the back his collar, dragging him out of your sight. You watched as Tobi comically flailed his arms, saying he wanted to make a new friend. _He’s a bit strange, but he seems nice._

“Alright, I’ll cut the chase, squirt,” the blue man suddenly said, and you suddenly felt a heavy weight on your shoulder. You noticed that the blue man placed his large sword on your shoulder, and you froze. “Let’s see what you’re made of.”

You gulped, what kind of welcoming party was this? Clearly, you were in no condition to fight, after getting stabbed in multiple parts of your body. With a blink of an eye, another figure appeared in front of you. You couldn’t see his face, but he had long black hair that was loosely tied.

“Kisame, I don’t think that is necessary. If Konan and Leader-sama thinks she is the right fit for our organization, we shall trust their judgment,” he said calmly. His voice was deep and lovely, and you were grateful for his help.

“I was just joking, Itachi. I wanted to see if Samehada will take a liking to her,” Kisame chuckled sadistically. He withdrew his sword from your shoulder, and you let out a breath of relief.

“Hmm, she has the ice release kekkei genkai. Coincidentally, I don’t have a puppet with that ability yet…” the hunchback-scorpion man said. _What does that even mean?!_

“Hey, back off Sasori! If anyone were to kill her first, that’d be me. Technically I was halfway through sacrificing her to Jashin!” Hidan shouted.

“You and your make-belief god…” Sasori grunted. Out of the blue, a heated discussion of who gets first dibs on killing you ensued between the various members.

With all the commotion going around you, you just stood there, dumbfounded by the multiple death threats you have received within the span of 10 minutes of meeting your “teammates”. Clearly, they were out for blood and you reminded yourself to lock the door when you were going to sleep tonight…

Noticing your silence, Itachi turned his head to look back at you. “Are you alright, (y/n)-san?” he asked. You noticed that Itachi was very handsome and had the loveliest onyx eyes. You felt your face slightly flushing. _Wow, his eyelashes are nice..._ _I wonder what mascara he uses..._ you thought absentmindedly.

“I-I’m alright. I’m feeling a bit tired,” you admitted. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to excuse myself…” You took this chance to go back to your room and sleep… You didn’t get much rest after the whole ordeal last night.

He didn’t say anything in reply. You turned your back from the living room and started walking towards your bedroom. As you walked away, Itachi silently looked at your retreating figure, wondering if you were indeed Akatsuki-material. However, he was not doubting your abilities; he didn’t know if you would last long with your shy and non-confrontational personality. He hoped that you will be able to handle your new lifestyle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Hopefully you all liked this chapter ^_^  
> Stay tuned for more adventures! :D


	5. A Mission with Hidan and Kakuzu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As assigned by Konan, Reader is placed in a mission with Hidan and Kakuzu. However, the mission was not what Reader had expected...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, another long chapter ahead! I hope you enjoy reading about Reader-chan's first mission with her "favourite" comrades XD
> 
> Just a heads up for the following:  
> T/W: sexual harassment, mentions of sexual assault

_The Next Morning…_

You were still in deep slumber until a loud knock on your door woke you up. You woke with a start and jumped up from your futon. It was still dark as the sun has not risen yet. _Who the fuck?!_ You were definitely not a morning person.

While still wearing your pajamas, you hauled your ass to the door and opened it to a smirking Hidan. _Gross! This was definitely not the first thing I wanted to see in the morning._

“Rise and shine, bitch! Get ready, we’re heading out soon. Make it quick though, you don’t wanna get on Kakuzu’s bad side, just sayin’. You don’t want to know what he did with his previous partners…” he said. You gave a sleepy nod, and as you were about to close the door to change, Hidan held the door open.

“By the way, make sure you wear civilian clothes under your cloak,” he instructed. Confused, you nodded again, and he let you close the door.

You quickly changed into your civilian clothes, then put on your cloak. Before you left your room, you ate a food pill since you haven’t eaten all day yesterday. You grimaced from the taste. _Blegh, these are nasty, but I have no other choice…_

You left your room to meet the two standing figures at the door. You nodded at your partners and the three of you left the base silently, into the forest. The sun was starting to rise, and the air was still cool. The three of you leapt from tree to tree, with Kakuzu taking the lead. You had no idea where you were going or what your mission was, so you just followed along. You made no effort to converse with your teammates, as Kakuzu didn’t seem interested in talking to you anyway, and well… Hidan… You didn’t want to open a can of worms. Thus, your team travelled quietly and the three of you took a few short breaks here and there. The travel to where the mission took place was pretty far from the base. It was the evening when Kakuzu halted; you and Hidan followed suit.

“We’ve arrived to our location.” Kakuzu grumbled. The three of you stood on a tree that was near the entrance of a small town. You stared at Kakuzu waiting for further instructions. Noticing your stare, Kakuzu spoke.

“Newbie, go in the town and lure this guy out. Heard he frequents the bar here.” Kakuzu dug his hand into his pocket and retrieved a small book. He opened the book and showed a gruff looking man with a mop of brown hair, who was a ninja of a small village. You read the description. _Yamaguchi Kado. Wanted Serial Rapist. Bounty: 15,000,000 ryo._ “Try to make it quick, we don’t have all day,” he added.

You stared blankly at the page, dumbfounded, then glanced at your two team members in disbelief. Hidan noticed your shocked expression, and decided it was the perfect opportunity to take a jab at you.

“What, clearly you have something we don’t have: tits and ass. You’re perfect for the job,” Hidan cackled hysterically.

Your insides burned with flames of anger, and your hands were balled into fists, but you made sure none of that anger showed in your expression. _These guys want to use me as fucking bait for a rapist?!_ _These guys think I’m a tool!_ Now you understood why they told you to wear civilian clothes, so the target wouldn’t know you’re a shinobi.

Defiantly, you took off your cloak and shoved it to Hidan. You noticed the despicable grin on his face, clearly amused by your unfavourable predicament. You leapt down from the tree and landed gracefully onto your feet. You walked into the village, internally screaming profanities in your mind. The two other members of your team crouched on the tree branch and watched you enter into the village.

\---

Once you were in the village, it took you around 5 minutes to find the location of the bar. You entered, and you quickly noticed the stench of masculinity and the boisterous environment. Although you worked at a bar yourself, it was no where as disgusting as this one. Your arrival has caught the attention of several patrons, and you received several wolf whistles and cat calls. It took you an unimaginable amount of self-control to not gouge their eyes out. Ignoring the disgusting scoundrels around you, you were looking for the target. You quickly noticed his mop of brown hair, and he was sitting by the front of the bar. You found an empty seat near him and sat down. It didn’t take long until he noticed you and sauntered over your way.

You suddenly felt an arm around your shoulders. You desperately wanted to flinch away, but you restrained yourself. You turned your head and you saw your target smiling perversely at you. He was very disgusting up close; you could smell the alcohol in his breath and clearly this guy didn’t have a good sense of hygiene.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing in here? Looks like you need some company,” he drawled. He took his free hand to stroke your chin.

You internally shuddered and you were about to castrate him on the spot. _If_ _he dares to fucking touch me again…_ However, you smiled in a demure manner and continued your act. “What’s your name, handsome?” you asked. _I fucking hate my life, I fucking hate my life, I fucking hate my life, I fucking hate my life, I fucking hate my life_ , you chanted in your mind.

“Kado, darling. Let me guess, is yours ‘Gorgeous’?” he said. You pretended to laugh, but you sounded like a dying cow. He clearly didn’t notice your forced laughter, as his eyes glinted with pride.

“Let me buy you a drink, gorgeous,” he suggested.

 _Crap, I don’t drink alcohol… What should I do?_ You had never had sake before, which seemed ironic as you worked in an establishment that primarily served alcoholic beverages. Before you could reply, Kado ordered a drink for you. The bartender swiftly passed you and Kado a cup of sake. Kado picked up his cup and you followed suit. You watched Kado finish his shot. You held your cup in your hand and froze the contents just before you tipped the cup into your mouth. You hid the cup to the side so he couldn’t see the frozen contents. You sat for a few moments, half-heartedly listening to Kado compliment your appearance and smiling in return. Deciding you had enough of his bullshit, you started to act tipsy. Plus, Kakuzu warned you to be quick, so you might as well speed up the process.

_I have never been drunk before, but I guess this is where my acting skills be helpful…_

“Kado… I think… I’m feeling a little bit dizzy…” you slurred. You stood up from your stool and pretended to stumble. Kado was pleasantly surprised to see that you were a light-weight drinker. He knew this was the perfect opportunity for him.

Kado immediately grabbed hold of your waist and whispered in your ear, “Don’t worry gorgeous, I’ve got you.” You felt his breath on your skin, and you wanted to erase your entire existence from this earth. _This is so fucking disgusting._

Taking this chance, Kado led you out of the bar. To lead him to the forest, you directed him, “Kado… My house is outside the village, can you walk me back?”

“Of course, darling. You can trust me to bring you home safe,” he snickered. _This bastard…_ You thought.

Kado continued to hold onto your waist, inching his hand down to your bottom as you two walked through the village. You felt extremely violated, and you felt a strong sense of sympathy for those who he had victimized. _I need to seek revenge for the women he had hurt… I swear to Kami that I will use my every ability to make sure this man gets what he deserves._ You wanted to stop him from hurting more people in the future.

\---

Hidan and Kakuzu were still crouching on the same tree branch, watching you and Kado emerge from the village entrance. Kakuzu was impressed by your speed of finding the target.

You ignored the presence of your two teammates and walked past the tree where they were waiting, you wanted to deal with this scumbag yourself. You weren’t sure if Kado had even noticed the two figures in the tree, but it was likely he was too distracted by his “intoxicated” companion. 

Kado and you walked deeper into the forest. At this point, you started to secretly weave hand signs in preparation for your attack. Thankfully, Kado did not realize your stealthy movements. _So much for a being a ninja!_

After completing the hand signs, Kado was immobilized within a matter of seconds. Shocked by his inability to move, Kado stammered, “W-what the fuck?”

Before he knew it, you threw a hard punch across his face, causing him to fly several meters away from where you stood. You jumped to where his frozen body laid and hovered above the confused Kado. You started to form ice shards while smiling sadistically down at his cowardly face.

“Y-You fucking bitch! Who the fuck are you?!” Kado yelled. You could tell that he was trying to move from his quivering body, but your jutsu was strong. _60% of the human body is made of water… Tough luck breaking the jutsu._

“I’m here to cleanse the world from scum like you,” you growled, “this is for all the women you hurt…” As such, you stabbed into his gut with your sharpened icicle. Kado’s screams echoed into the forest. You formed another rod of ice and stabbed it into his shoulder. He stared at you with a horrified expression as he yowled in pain, wondering if you were a demon from hell. You sought vengeance for all the innocent women he had previously hurt. Killing him on the spot didn’t serve any justice… You needed him to feel the pain. You continued to spear him, purposely missing the vital spots. The blood sprayed all over you as you continuously jabbed into his figure.

Hidan and Kakuzu looked at each other, surprised by your cruel method of attacking the target.

“I didn’t know she had it in her, but damn, that’s kinda hot!” Hidan confessed.

“We need to stop her before she gets carried away. The bounty officer doesn’t like it if the body is unrecognizable.” Kakuzu said. The two of them jumped down to where you were. Kakuzu grabbed your hand to stop you from attacking, and you glared back at him with animalistic eyes.

“Calm down, kid. You already killed him. Let’s go.” He grunted.

You dropped your ice spear reluctantly and stood up. Your hands were sticky from the warm blood. Since your clothes were ruined anyway, you wiped the gore onto your shirt. You watched as Kakuzu picked up the limp body and threw it over his shoulder. Hidan appeared next to you and passed you your cloak. You took it and put it on, and the three of you started walking away from the puddles of blood.

Hidan walked next to you and whistled. “Damn bitch, you’re kinda wild,” he said, clearly impressed.

You didn’t say anything. _The asshole deserved it. In fact, if I had the ability, I would resurrect him and kill him again!_

“How about ya consider joining Jashin? I can tell you like killing, but when you do it in the name of Jashin, it’s even more satisfying…” he said dreamily.

You stared at him in disbelief. You didn’t enjoy killing for the sake of killing… You only killed for the sake of vengeance.

“Y’know, he was going to be my next sacrifice to Jashin, since I couldn’t sacrifice you…” he whined.

Your curiosity was getting to the best of you, since you wanted to know how he attacked you the other night. It was still a mystery to you that he didn’t even touch you but managed to stab multiple parts of your body. “How exactly… Do you perform your sacrifice?” you asked.

He broke into a wide grin. “Looks like someone’s interested! I’ll show you next time… I know you’ll like it,” he promised. You were creeped out by how excited he was… You never should’ve asked…

\---

The three of you continued to travel to the bounty collector’s, with Hidan yammering your ear off as he goes on and on about the benefits of joining Jashin. You desperately wanted to tell him to shut up, but you just let him talk. After Kakuzu delivered the body to the bounty officer, the three of you went to a nearby town to stay at an inn for the night.

The three of you entered the inn and Kakuzu went up to the clerk. “One room, please.” The clerk stared at the three of you, surprised. She probably thought you guys were up to some kinky stuff. However, you nearly choked. _One room?!_

You walked to Kakuzu and looked up at the taller man. “Uhm… Shouldn’t we get two rooms?” you asked quietly.

“Look, kid. I make the rules. Unless you want to pay for it yourself, then get another room,” he stared down at you, clearly annoyed. You didn't expect him to lose his temper that quickly, you were only asking an innocent question.

You instinctively dug into the pockets of your cloak. _Shit, I forgot to bring money with me_. “… I didn’t bring money…” you said sheepishly.

“Too bad, kid. Either you sleep outside, or we all share a room,” he said with a tone of finality. You knew you shouldn’t try to retaliate, as Hidan has previously warned you to stay on the good side of Kakuzu. _Cheap ass! And if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be holding that briefcase of money!_

After Kakuzu retrieved the keys from the clerk, you reluctantly followed him and Hidan to the room. You weren’t comfortable with the idea of staying in the same room with two other guys, especially when one guy had loudly announced **multiple times** that he wanted to use you as a sacrifice for his “god” … _Kami!_ _Is this karma for all the bad deeds I have done?!_

Upon entering the room, you stood awkwardly at the door while Hidan and Kakuzu were already preparing their futons and removing their cloaks. You couldn’t help to gawk at their muscular figures, but you chided yourself for staring. _Stop being a pervert!_ Before your teammates notice your awkward staring, you quickly went to retrieve the spare futon from the closet and set it up far away from where your teammates have placed theirs.

“Aw, c’mon babe, we won’t bite ‘cha!” Hidan joked morbidly. _Uhm, technically you tried to kill me… Yeah… It’s best if I kept my distance._

You decided to turn your back to him as you set up your futon; looking at his face only made you angrier. You didn’t bother to take off your cloak and you slipped into your futon, with your back facing your teammates. You haven’t realized how exhausted you were, and you slowly drifted to sleep in your toasty futon.

As you drifted off to sleep, you began to quietly sleep-talk. Your two partners turned their head to look at you, surprised by the sudden noise. You were talking about the different types of dangos you wanted to eat, talked about watering your house plants, and talked about practicing the koto.

Your teammates were very amused by your mindless mumbling. This was probably the most they’ve heard you speak since your addition into the Akatsuki. Soon, they fell asleep to your soft voice.

\---

The next morning, your teammates woke up at the break of dawn, while you were still sleeping. Your head was buried into your futon, making you look like a mound of snow.

“Hidan, go wake her up. We have to get back to the base,” Kakuzu instructed as he got dressed.

Hidan walked over to your futon and knelt down to nudge your sleeping figure. “Wake up, bitch, it’s time to go,” he said.

Your head slowly emerged from the covers and you opened your eyes slowly, blinking a couple of times. While you were still dazed from deep slumber and your dreams about dangos, you were amazed by the handsome face you saw, and a smile crept up your face. _Wow… So handsome… This is a good dream…_

Hidan stared your sleepy, smiling face. He felt a blush dusting his cheeks. _Shit… She’s kinda adorable…_ he thought to himself.

A few moments later, you felt more awake and realized the “handsome face” was Hidan. You internally slapped yourself. _Gross! As if!_ Your smile disappeared and you quickly sat up, startling Hidan.

“Took you long enough! Better get ready or else Kakuzu’s going to start grumbling again,” he muttered, trying to shake off the fuzzy feeling. You stood up from your futon and combed through your (h/c) locks with your fingers. You put on your sandals and left the room.

The three of you left the inn and began to travel back to the base. You were closely trailing Kakuzu; you just couldn’t wait to take a shower and change out of your bloodied outfit. Hidan was travelling behind you and couldn’t stop thinking of your adorable smile from this morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter~!   
> Stay tuned for next week's chapter (about a certain man who says 'hmm' a lot) XD!


	6. Deidara and His Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (y/n) returns from her mission with Hidan and Kakuzu, hoping to spend some time alone, but ends up encountering her blonde comrade, Deidara...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hope everyone is doing well! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

The moment you, Kakuzu, and Hidan returned to the base, you immediately ran to your room to retrieve a fresh set of clothes and some toiletries to go take a shower. You felt grimy from the previous night’s mission and you desperately wanted to scrub your body after getting violated by Kado. You headed to the communal washroom, and thankfully no one was occupying it. You removed your dirty clothes and bandages, noticing that your injuries were healing well. You hopped into the stall and gave yourself a quick rinse, scrubbing off all the dried blood and dirt. After patting yourself dry, you wore your fresh set of clothing and headed back to your room.

No one has bothered you with a new mission yet, so you assumed you were free for the rest of the day. You contemplated on what you should do… _Should I get to know my teammates better? … Nah, everyone just wants to kill me. Should I sleep? Hmm, I’m not that tired, so probably not._ You sat on your futon brainstorming of various things to do, until your stomach started growling.

You didn’t realize that you were extremely famished. After all, you only had food pills yesterday and they tasted pretty gross. You considered snooping around the base to look for food, but that might risk you running into your comrades… Which didn’t seem like a good idea.

As such, you decided that you were going to spend the rest of the day in search of food. Packing some money into your pockets, you headed out of the base.

It was a beautiful day… The skies were clear, and it was sunny. From yesterday’s mission, you remembered passing by a nearby town. _I should check out the town to see if they have any food vendors! I hope they have a dango store…_

As you were about to head into the forest, a familiar voice called out. “Yo, newbie! Where are you heading, hmm?”

You turned around to the direction of the voice, and it was your blonde comrade, Deidara. _Great… I was hoping to get some alone time, but I guess not._

You walked over to Deidara and nodded your head at him. “Nothing, I was just planning to go into town,” you replied.

“I was hoping to show you my art, un!” he sighed, sounding disappointed. Then, his face immediately lit up. “How about I bring you to town, hmm?” He suggested.

Before you could reply, he stuck his hands under his coat into two pouches, then took them out again. With his palms up, you noticed that he had mouths on his hands! They were chewing something. To be frank, the sight was a little bit off-putting.

“Uhm… Are those… Mouths?” you asked curiously, as you eyed the mouths chewing some white substance.

“Yeah! I use them to create my art… I knead the clay with them by infusing chakra into it, un!” he explained. Although the sight was a bit unsettling, you couldn’t stop staring. _I wonder if he can eat with those hands…_

After a few seconds, a small white bird was in his hand. He raised one hand up with two fingers raised, and the small bird eventually became a gigantic bird. Your eyes widened in amazement. Happy with your reaction, he wore his haughty expression. “This is what you call true art… Hmm!”

He climbed onto the large bird and he beckoned you to do the same. You hesitated as you were unsure if this was one of his ploys to kill you.

“Come on, newbie! Get on, yeah!” he said, reaching a hand towards you. You thought twice and maybe it is safe… Since he got on the bird first. You decided to take his offer and warily grabbed onto his hand to climb onto the large bird, sitting behind him.

“Hang on tight, yeah!” he warned you. _Wha…? What does this bird do?_ You thought.

The bird’s wings started flapping and the two of you were suddenly in mid air. _Oh… Of course. The bird flies… (figures)._ You have never flown before and this made you feel uneasy. Without thinking, you decided to look down, and your legs immediately turned into jelly. You were so high up that the trees looked like broccoli and you could see the horizon.

 _Oh, dear kami!!! This is absolutely terrifying, this was a bad, bad, BAD IDEA!_ _Even if he doesn’t kill me intentionally, I’d probably die from falling off!_

You immediately squeezed your eyes shut and you sat as stiff as a stick. Your hands were grabbing the clay bird as if your life depended on it, although it did not provide you with much comfort. You were starting to feel motion sickness, and the cool wind was not helping your case.

“You like the view, newbie?” you heard Deidara ask. You felt his long blonde locks tickling your face. From the sound of his voice, you could tell he was really enjoying the ride. _No! I am scared out of my wits!_

You desperately wanted to hold onto him, but you didn’t want to lose your dignity. However, it didn’t take long to convince yourself to do the unexpected. _Fuck it! I rather lose my dignity than my life!_

“U-uhm… I-is it okay i-if I hold onto y-you?” you stammered. Deidara looked back at you, surprised. Your expression looked as if you were going to cry.

“Umm… I guess, hmm…” he replied. Taking that as an affirmative answer, you immediately wrapped your arms around his waist tightly and buried your face into his back. His warmth was comforting to you; his body shielded you from the cool wind blowing into your face. Instantly, you felt relieved. However, your sudden embrace shocked Deidara… but in a pleasant way. He felt a slight blush creeping up his face. _No one has ever held me this way… Un…_ He thought.

After a few moments, the bird started to descend, and you felt the bird land onto solid ground. You raised your head from Deidara’s back and you instantly released your tight hold from him. _I probably suffocated him from my tight hold… Woops._

“Sorry… It was my first time being so high up and it was pretty scary…” you muttered embarrassedly. You hope he didn’t mind… You hopped off the large bird clumsily, trying to regain your sense of balance.

“Yeah, I get it. It’s always scary the first time, hmm,” he replied. He hopped off and the bird disappeared in a poof.

“Though, that was cool, I guess.” you said. You were grateful for him to show you his art, even though it was extremely terrifying.

“Of course. I have to show everyone what true art is… Hmm! I still have to show you my greatest masterpieces of all time!” he exclaimed proudly. _Okay, so from what I have gathered so far, one guy is extremely religious, and one guy is extremely passionate about his art… These people really have no middle ground,_ you thought silently.

The two of you walked into the town. It was your first time here, so you were unfamiliar with the vendors. You walked by the stores, looking for any that sold dango or other sweet treats, while Deidara walked next to you. As the two of you were walking, he was telling you about how art is the single fleeting moment of explosion and what not, but you were only pretending to listen and let out subtle grunts in reply. You were too preoccupied with your dango-seeking mission.

“Hey, newbie, are you even listening, hmm?” Deidara snapped, noticing your withdrawn behaviour. _Ah, I got to stop being so absentminded… I forget I have to socialize with people now…_

“Uhm… Yes, of course I am. Art is the single fleeting moment of explosion… I totally agree.” you replied, even though you had no idea what that meant. To be frank, that was the only thing you heard him say.

“YES! That is exactly it. Finally, someone in this organization who has good taste! I can’t wait to tell my man Sasori about this, hmm!” Deidara cheered excitedly, pumping his fist into the air.

Finally, after 5 minutes of mindless wandering, you noticed a dango vendor and your mouth started salivating. You wanted to quickly run to the store as quick as you can, but you decided to maintain your “cool”. As Deidara continued his speech about what makes good art, you were subtly making a beeline towards the vendor.

Deidara finally noticed that the two of you were in front of a dango store.

“Dango? What’s with everyone and their fixation on dango? First Tobi, now you, hmm,” he muttered. You thought back to the day you first met the other Akatsuki members, in particular the orange-masked man who excitedly greeted you that day. _I’m not surprised… Tobi seems like the type of guy who would like sweets, based on my first impressions of him, at least._

You went up to the old lady who was selling the dango. “Hello, I would like to get half a dozen tri-colour dango, please,” you politely requested. The granny nodded and you gave her the cash. The granny came back with a neatly packaged bundle and handed it to you. You thanked her and left the vendor.

Feeling giddy inside, you immediately opened the package and you saw the beautifully glistening dango. You were about to pick one up to munch on, but you remembered your blonde-haired companion next to you. _It’s only nice to offer before eating… Even though I can totally devour all of six sticks by myself…_

“Would you like some?” you asked shyly, looking up at the slightly taller man.

Surprised by your kind gesture, Deidara slightly blushed. He took a stick of dango from the package. “Thanks, hmm.”

You finally took a dango for yourself. Biting into the pink dumpling, you almost fainted from how good it tasted. Unable to contain your satisfaction, you let out a small squeal of delight.

Deidara noticed your squeal. _She’s scared of heights… She has a fine taste in art… And she likes sweet things… She’s… kind of cute, hmm…_ he thought silently to himself. He watched silently as you devoured two more sticks of dango in the span of 5 minutes.

Unaware of Deidara’s watchful eye, you patted your belly contently. However, you still had two more sticks of dango left. You overestimated your dango-eating abilities. You turned to your companion. “Do you want anymore?” you offered.

“Nah, I’m good. But you could bring it back to the base and offer it to Tobi, hmm,” he recommended. You shrugged and neatly re-packaged the leftover dango. _Not a bad idea, I guess… Don’t want to let these delicious dango go to waste… And Tobi’s nice, so I don’t mind._

The two of you walked back to the outskirts of town. As Deidara was about to craft his giant clay bird, you realized how bad of an idea that would be. Now that you have a full stomach, you were guaranteed to throw up from motion sickness.

“Uhm… I think I’ll walk instead…” you told your companion.

“It’s going to take forever to walk. If you want… You can hold onto me again, un…” he offered shyly, while scratching the back of his head. _Huh… I guess he didn’t mind…_ You thought.

“I-it’s not that… I don’t want to throw up on you…” you admitted. _That’s lowkey embarrassing but I don’t think he wants dango bits in his beautifully luscious hair._ “But you can go on ahead yourself, I know how to get back to the base.”

Deidara contemplated; after getting to know you, he didn’t mind your company, especially since you both shared the same view on art. “It’s okay, I’ll walk with you, un,” he decided.

You felt bad for having him walk back with you all the way to the base... It would take an hour to walk. However, you thought of another idea. “Do you mind holding onto the dango for a moment?” He put his hand out and you gave him the dango.

With your hands now free, you bit your right thumb and a small orb of blood oozed out. Smearing the blood onto the palm of your left hand, you started forming the hand signs: boar, dog, bird, monkey, ram. Slamming your hand onto the ground, black markings formed around your hand in the shape of a circle.

_Kuchiyose no jutsu!_

In a poof of smoke, two enormous white wolves were summoned. Your summoning animals were arctic wolves; it was also a family tradition from your mother’s side to sign blood contracts with arctic wolves. You petted the two giant beings endearingly.

“Climb on, this will make travelling a lot faster,” you explained to Deidara, who appeared to be impressed your summons. The both of you climbed onto the backs of the giant wolves, and they soon took off towards the direction of the base. The sound of their strong paws hitting the ground made rapid _thud, thud, thud_ noises, kicking up dirt clouds behind them.

“And you don’t get motion sickness from this, hmm?” Deidara asked loudly, due to the loud thudding noises. It was a fair question; the wolves were running extremely fast.

“At least we are on solid ground, right?” you grinned in reply. Deidara shrugged, although he preferred being up in the air.

The two of you arrived back to the base shortly and you both climbed off the wolves. They disappeared in a poof. Deidara handed the packaged dango back to you. You waved bye to your comrade to go look for Tobi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think!  
> <3


	7. Clumsy Tobi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (y/n) returns to the base with leftover dango for Tobi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you're all doing well! ^_^ Enjoy the chapter with Tobi! ^_^

You walked back into the base to look for Tobi, since you had leftover dango that you wanted to give him. Deidara mentioned that Tobi enjoyed eating dango and you didn’t want such delicious food to go to waste. However, you stopped in your tracks because you realized you didn’t know where his room was. Plus, it wouldn’t seem like a good idea to knock on every single door to look for him… You didn’t start off on a good foot with your teammates and they most likely wouldn’t appreciate you randomly knocking on their doors.

A loud thwacking sound had caught your attention and it seemed to come from outside of the base. Curious, you walked towards the window to locate the source of the loud noise.

Peering out the window, you saw Tobi kicking a tree. As he was about to attempt another kick, he lost his balance and fell onto his bum. You heard him yelp loudly. Knowing where he was, you decided to head outside and ask if he was interested in some dango.

You walked towards Tobi, watching him clumsily punch and kick the tree trunk, and occasionally falling down. As you were approaching, he noticed you and he excitedly ran towards you.

“(y/n)-chan!!! So good to see you!!! I haven’t seen you all day yesterday and I was starting to miss you!!!” he exclaimed, waving his arms in the air. Again, you weren’t used to such enthusiasm, but you tried to be nice and smiled at the orange-masked fellow.

“Hi Tobi, I just came by to ask if you wanted some dango. I went to town today, but I couldn’t finish them all,” you said while you unwrapped the dango packaging.

“(y/n)-chan, how did you know I liked dango?! You are the best person ever!!!” he cried excitedly. You handed him the package, of which he happily took from your hands.

Realizing he will have to remove his mask to eat, you were trying to inconspicuously watch him. To be frank, you were really curious to see what Tobi looked like under his mask.

“(y/n)-chan… Please don’t watch me eat… I’m really shy~ Especially when a pretty girl like you is watching me…” Tobi said bashfully, placing a gloved hand coyly above where his mouth is supposed to be.

You were embarrassed he noticed you staring at him and you blushed a deep crimson. “I-I’m sorry… I’ll head back inside now. Enjoy the dango!” you replied, abruptly turning around to head back into the house. _Kami, why am I so embarrassing..._

“Oh, please stay and keep me company!! I was getting a little bit lonely… Since no one at the base really likes to hang out with me…” Tobi said sadly. You felt terrible hearing that; you were once ostracized by your peers as a child. You decided to stay and sat down on the grass to keep Tobi company.

Tobi turned his back to you as he began to eat his dango. You saw the motion of him lifting up his mask, but you couldn’t see his face. _Why is he so secretive? I wonder what he’s hiding._

As he ate, he exclaimed loudly. “This is so good!! The perfect sweetness and the perfect texture, mmmmmmmm!”

 _I mean… They were delicious, but even I wasn’t this enthusiastic…_ You thought.

Tobi finished his two sticks of dango and patted his belly in satisfaction. “Ohhhhh, thank you so so much, (y/n)-chan! That really hit the spot!!” he gushed. You smiled in response; you were glad he enjoyed the sweet treat. You watched Tobi stand up and he started to walk towards the tree he was previously kicking. You watched him attempt to land a kick, but he tumbled.

“Owwww… I will never get the hang of this!” you heard him whine. _He’s kind of terrible at taijutsu…_ _How did he even get into the Akatsuki…? No offence to him, of course._

You continued to watch him stumble and you started to feel bad. It was obvious that he was struggling, and it was most likely that the other members of the Akatsuki weren’t helping him out with training.

You stood up and walked over to Tobi. “When you’re kicking, try to plant your other foot onto the ground so you don’t lose balance,” you instructed. You went over to the tree and demonstrated a strong kick to the trunk, causing a few leaves to fall.

“(y/n)-chan… That was amazing!! Let me try…” Tobi mimicked your pose and landed a kick onto the trunk. He was a little bit wobbly, but he didn’t fall over. “Wow, did you see that??? I landed a perfect kick!! I got to say, I’m a natural at this!”

“Good job. Try doing that over and over again. Try with your other leg as well,” you said. You crossed your arms and watched Tobi practice. He was getting better with each kick.

“Okay, why don’t you try landing a few kicks on me?” you suggested.

“Are you sure, (y/n)-chan?? It wouldn’t be too good if I hurt you…” Tobi asked to make sure. You nodded affirmatively. A moving target could help Tobi learn faster as well. You weren’t worried that he would hurt you, since you were quite nimble.

Tobi turned to you and started to kick. You dodged each of Tobi's kicks with ease. His swings were still slow and heavy; thus, it wasn't much of a challenge to evade his attacks. While Tobi's attacks were accompanied by grunts of frustration, your dodges were silent, with only the sound of your body swooshing to be heard. Tobi stumbled and fell a few times, but you always offered your hand and encouraged him to keep going. 

After a few hours, you noticed his stance has improved and he became more stable with each kick.

"(Y/n)-chan... *breathes* I-I'm exhausted *breathes*," Tobi panted. He plopped down onto the lush grass, breathing heavily.

"Good job today. You should get some rest," you said. You contemplated in whether you should offer to spar with him occasionally for practice, but you still preferred to spend your free time alone.

"Thank you so much for your help, (y/n)-chan... Without you, I don't think I could ever master the kicking!! You are way cooler than the other members," he exclaimed. "… don't tell them I said that though... They might beat me up," he whispered, putting one hand to the side of his face. 

You almost broke into a smile. You were elated that you were able to help him and he seemed to be grateful. To be honest, that was enough to convince you to reconsider asking Tobi if he wanted to be your sparring buddy.

"W-Would you like to spar with me when we're both free? I need a sparring partner, too." You asked nervously. This reminded you of when you were a child asking to play with the other villager children, hence why you felt nervous. _Will Tobi think I’m being too chummy? What if he says no? This was probably a bad idea..._

Tobi was ecstatic from your offer. He jumped up and grabbed your hands. "Do you really mean it, (y/n)-chan??? Are you going to help me improve my taijutsu???!" He asked in disbelief. Internally, Tobi was surprised by your forwardness. When he initially met you, you were quite reserved.

"O-of course. I want the best for all my teammates," you said, relieved that he accepted your offer. This was partially true... The others can fuck themselves (i.e., Hidan).

"Oh, this is great!! Now I won't be a nuisance to Deidara-senpai!!!" Tobi exclaimed, clapping his hands.

The two of you walked together back into the base, discussing what techniques to try on the next spar session. Tobi seemed to pick up skills pretty quickly, to your surprise. Perhaps by the next few sessions, the two of you could have _actual_ sparring sessions.

\---

The two of you split off, with Tobi heading back to his own room and you heading towards yours. As per usual, your mind drifted else where and you walked into something. _What the—_

You looked up and it was your teammate, Kisame, who was smirking down at your small figure. You were about to apologize, but before you could speak, he spoke up.

“I saw that you were sparring with Tobi. Not bad, I got to say, although Tobi’s not much of a fight. How about you spar with me, squirt? I’d like to get you acquainted with Samehada…” Kisame said sadistically.

“I-I wasn’t sparring with Tobi, I was just helping him with taijutsu…” you tried to explain. To be honest, you were quite terrified of Kisame: he was HUGE in comparison to you, and he basically tried to kill you upon initial meeting. _Oh, please let me go… I’m not that interested in fighting you…_

“So, you’re telling me that you’re good at taijutsu then. Let me test you. Unless… You’re too chicken,” he mocked. “I knew you weren’t good enough for the Akatsuki.”

 _(y/n)… He’s just trying to trick you into fighting with him… Don’t fall for his trap… Don’t fall for it…_ you thought to youtself.

“You know what? Fine, I’ll fight you!” you shouted up at him angrily. Then, you immediately clasped your hand onto your mouth as your eyes widened. _Wait, why the fuck did I do that?_ You again, acted irrationally. Ever since you joined the Akatsuki, you started to act more rashly than usual… Perhaps because these people provoked you too much.

Kisame was surprised by your sudden outburst. Your shout caught the attention of other members in the base, who poked their heads out in curiosity.

Kisame looked around and smirked. “Everyone heard that, right? The new meat wants to fight me! There’s no backing out now… Meet me tomorrow at 9 AM at the field. I can’t wait to cut your little limbs off…” he cackled, walking away.

Hidan was one of the heads poking from the door. “Can’t wait to see you get your ass handed back to you, bitch! I’m definitely watching this fight!”. He then slammed the door and you could hear him laughing hysterically.

You groaned and facepalmed yourself. _Great, now everyone’s going to watch me get pummeled!_

You dragged yourself back into your room, internally crying from your own stupidity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for reading this chapter! I had writer's block this week, so I had a hard time writing this chapter :(.
> 
> Hehe, Reader-chan doesn't know the truth about Tobi, so I thought it'd be funny to make him "suck" at taijutsu~


	8. A Battle with Kisame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously, (y/n) had impulsively agreed to a one-on-one battle with Kisame, after getting taunted by the S-ranked missing nin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! This is a long chapter, but I hope you all enjoy! ^_^

It was already dawn. You couldn’t sleep the entire night because you were too nervous about your impending death match with Kisame. You spent the whole night chiding yourself for falling prey to Kisame’s taunts, which was out of the ordinary for you. Perhaps his mockery triggered your childhood memories of getting bullied, causing you to overreact.

You knew nothing about Kisame’s abilities, except the fact that he wielded a huge sword, and he was much bigger than you. _Great, he could literally step on me and I would just die…_

You decided to get up from the futon and you got dressed. You tied your mother’s headband around your neck as a good luck charm. You wanted a part of your mom to be with you during this battle since you inherited your skills and kekkei genkai from her. As a way to encourage yourself to try your best, you decided to dedicate this battle as an homage to your mother. _I won’t let you down, mom. I will try my best…_

You performed a few stretches to ease the knots in your muscles. Then, there was a knock on your door. _Oh no, is it already time? I swear its not 9 AM yet!_

You walked over to your door and opened it. Shockingly, the person on the other side was Hidan. You were surprised; what business does he have here? _Is he here to taunt me? I’m not really in the mood to entertain his bullshit… Actually, I’m NEVER in the mood to entertain his shit._

Hidan did originally come with the intention to discourage you and to let you know that you will have no chance against Kisame. However, upon seeing you, his heart started to flutter. He couldn’t bring himself to taunt you at that moment.

“W-Well, you’re up early for once! I came by to make sure you’re awake, so you don’t miss your death match!” he announced while scratching the back of his head. You couldn’t really put a finger to it, but he was acting a little bit awkward.

“…Thanks. Uhm… If that’s all, I’m just going to go back to stretching…” you said awkwardly. Hidan’s awkwardness rubbed off onto you. Well, you were already an awkward person, but he made things even more awkward.

“… I can help you warm up,” he offered. You eyed him suspiciously. _Is he trying to sabotage me before my match? What is this man up to?_ However, you hesitantly nodded yes to his offer anyway. You needed practice with hand to hand combat, as you haven’t sparred with anyone in a long time.

The two of you walked silently to the field outside of the base to warm up. _Weird, he’s being awfully quiet today and he hasn’t mocked me once…_

The sun has risen, and the air was still chilly. You didn’t wear your cloak since it was really big, and it would hinder your ability to attack. Once the two of you were in the middle of the field, you and Hidan started to spar lightly. Lighthearted punches and kicks were made, with effortless blocks from both parties. However, you were still suspicious of his motives.

_What if this was his plan to lure me out so he can kill me before Kisame does? Oh Kami, I have a feeling he’s up to no good!_

Hidan noticed that you were spacing out. After interacting with you on that first mission, he noticed that you had a bad habit of losing focus. “Hey bitch, you really need to stop spacing out like that. You will actually get killed by Kisame if you aren’t putting 100% of your attention into the match,” he snapped.

 _Oh shit, he’s right… Why is he looking out for me anyway? I thought he wanted to see me get pummeled…_ However, he did make a good point and you nodded in reply.

After an hour of warm-ups, the two of you took a break and sat down onto the grass. Miraculously, he hadn’t said anything mean to you yet. _Hmm, perhaps I should thank him for helping me warm up…_

While you were busy contemplating on whether to thank him or not, you didn’t notice Hidan was staring at you. The early sun shone on you, creating an angel-like halo around you; your (h/c) hair was glistening, and your skin was glowing. _Jashin, was this bitch always this pretty? Fuck, what’s gotten into me?!_

After a few moments of contemplating, you decided you were going to thank him. You turned to face him, but you noticed the goofy expression on his face. You scrunched your face in confusion… You never seen anyone stare at you like that. _Is there something on my face? Why is he looking at me like that?_

“Uhhh… Thanks for helping me warm up,” you mumbled, as you tried to discreetly wipe your face with your sleeves. _I’m probably sweating like mad, that’s why he’s staring at me like that… Kami! As if he doesn’t sweat!_

Your voice awoken Hidan from his trance. “Yeah, yeah. Just try not to get fucking killed. Because remember, only I’M allowed to kill you, so you better survive,” he goaded. You rolled your eyes; you knew better that he had to at least make one threat to you per day.

The two of you sat silently; you played with grass and Hidan was laying on his back, watching you. Your attention was diverted when you heard a group of people walking towards where you and Hidan were situated. You looked up and saw Kisame, along with Itachi, Deidara, Tobi, Sasori and Kakuzu. Everyone, except Kisame, went to sit up on the branches of the trees. Hidan joined the rest of the members. _What the hell! Why is the whole squad here?_

“Good morning, squirt. You are awfully punctual for your own funeral,” Kisame said with a wide smirk. His pointy teeth looked especially menacing today.

You stood up and bowed slightly as a greeting. Your hands were shaking from the nervousness.

“To make things easier for the both of us, there are no limitations to what you can use in this battle. Taijutsu, ninjutsu, kenjutsu, whatever you like. I’d just like to see if you can even survive this match,” Kisame announced.

You nodded in reply. To be honest, you really wanted to cry. Kisame was really intimidating and you were losing confidence in your abilities.

Both of you stood at a comfortable distance from each other. You prepared yourself by standing in a battle stance, while Kisame drew his large sword, which was covered in white bandages.

_Okay, so I shouldn’t waste my time trying to throw shuriken or kunai at him, since his blade will block all of them. Secondly, because he is so muscular, one swing of his sword and I’ll be toast. The only way I can survive is probably by playing defense and evade his attacks. The only advantage I have is that I’m much smaller than him, so I should be much quicker…_

Before you could continue your assessment, Kisame was already charging at you at an unbelievable speed. He swung his sword at you and you barely dodged in time, causing his sword to graze your arm. The bandages of his sword were torn, and you noticed the sword was jagged and was covered in scales. You felt an immense pain on your arm where his sword has touched you. You jumped a considerable amount of distance from Kisame, while you held your injury with your other hand.

“Hahaha! My dear Samehada doesn’t simply cut your flesh but lobs it off!” you heard him yell as he was making another advance towards you. You noticed his sword is starting to move on its own…

_I am fucked! That sword is no joke. I must stay as far as I can from him._

Kisame had formidable strength and speed. His size was not a problem; thus, you were basically in equal terms in agility with Kisame. You were desperately dodging each of his attacks, like a small fish swimming away from a ginormous shark. Because you were too preoccupied with dodging his sword, you weren’t able to form hand signs.

“This is no fun at all! I need to chop off your legs so you will stop running away!” Kisame howled. He continued to slash at you, and you were starting to feel hopeless.

_The Spectators_

Itachi was watching this battle carefully, although he outwardly appeared nonchalant. Itachi was Kisame’s partner and he knew how sadistic and cruel Kisame could be. During missions, Kisame would not hesitate to kill someone mercilessly if it weren’t for Itachi to keep him grounded. Even if you weren’t killed by the end of this battle, there was no doubt you would end up very injured.

Sasori was not impressed by your skills at all (or lack thereof). In fact, he thought this battle was a waste of time and he _hated_ having his time wasted. There was no doubt Kisame would win this battle; there was a reason why Kisame was referred to as the “Monster of the Hidden Mist”. You were absolutely no match, in terms of size, skill, and speed.

Kakuzu, similar to Sasori, thought this battle was useless. Although he had witnessed your capabilities during the first mission, it was nothing in comparison to Kisame’s skills. Kakuzu was so confident in Kisame’s abilities that he was willing to bet his hard-earned cash on Kisame (which, of course, he would never do something as silly as that).

Deidara was entertained by this battle, though he was thinking of which clay rankings he would use against Kisame. _Definitely not a C1, Kisame will require the calibre of a C3 explosion, hmm!_

Tobi, on the other hand, watched anxiously. He didn’t want (y/n)-chan to die, because she was so nice to him! Who would teach him new taijutsu moves if she died? With that in mind, he shouted, “(y/n)-chan!!!!! Ganbatte! Go kick Kisame’s big shark bum!”

Lastly, Hidan was secretly worried for you, although he didn’t understand why. Hidan was a man who expressed no remorse when he killed others, in fact, he took a vast enjoyment in killing others. Watching his teammates kill others didn’t phase him, either; he enjoyed watching others suffer. However, watching you gradually getting wrecked by Kisame was not an easy sight, even for him. _Why am I so concerned about this bitch, anyway?_

_Resuming the Battle…_

You heard Tobi cry out an encouragement towards you, which distracted you for a second. Regrettably, that one second of distraction gave an opening for Kisame to kick you square in the gut, causing you to fly backwards. Your back hit the tree where the spectators were sitting, causing the tree to vibrate violently. You buckled over from the sharp pain. You heard something crack and breathing became increasingly painful. Something definitely broke, maybe a rib or two. As you were hunched over, your mother’s headband became loose and fell onto the ground. The shiny metal of the headband was glistening under the sun.

 _Kami, this is so painful and embarrassing…_ you thought to yourself. You were grabbing the grass beneath you. _I’m sorry to have let you down, mom…_

Hidan had a feeling you were beginning to either zone out or black out from the impact of the kick. “Ouch, that’s gotta hurt!” Hidan shouted from above to snap you out of the trance.

His shout woke you from your moment of self-loathing. You noticed a shadow looming before you. You looked up and saw Kisame staring down at you. He noticed you were already battered and out of breath. _How weak…_ he thought.

Kisame stared at the fallen headband. “Kirigakure, eh? We are from the same village, yet the difference is that I was taught not to run away from my opponent. Clearly, you’re a failure of the teachings. Are you even a ninja? Who even taught you? Clearly someone who was incompetent…” he mocked.

You tried to speak, but you coughed out blood instead.

“Why don’t we have a little fun? Since you just _love_ running away, let’s keep you confined and let you suffocate for a bit. I would _love_ to see you desperately gasping for air…” he sneered. He quickly formed hand signs and you were immediately encased in his water prison jutsu.

Things around you were blurry and sounds were being drowned out. You were struggling to breathe, and it was getting more and more painful by the second. You knew you will black out from the lack of oxygen very soon.

Without thinking another second, you slowly exhaled through your nose. The water prison began to freeze, and it was starting to become clouded. Kisame was shocked by the sudden solidification of the water prison. The spectators watching from above were now curious; they were all wondering what (y/n) had up in her sleeves.

The water prison was now completely solid. There were cracks forming, which were originating from the centre of the orb. In a split second, the orb suddenly exploded, and a thousand ice shards flew out in all directions. Under the sunlight, the shards were glistening like crystals, creating a beautiful spectacle.

You emerged from the broken ice shards and jumped up high in the air. After being encased in the ice, you felt an adrenaline rush from the near-death experience. Although you were in intense pain, you had to continue fighting. You knew you had to fight Kisame from a distance, and inherently, you had an advantage over him. Your ice release kekkei genkai will negate his water release attacks. Since your opponent was distracted from the sudden explosion, this created an opening for you to form hand signs for your offensive attack.

 _Ice release: ice dragon flight!_ Using this jutsu required a tremendous amount of chakra, but you were willing to risk it.

A large, ice dragon was formed and started to fly towards Kisame. The dragon’s mouth opened, baring menacing fangs. The dragon’s flight created such violently cold wind that it felt like miniature knives scoring through one’s skin. The spectators were covering their faces with their cloaks to shield themselves from the freezing wind.

Where the dragon touched, it turned into ice. As the dragon was making its way to Kisame, the trees that it came into contact with froze at an instant, encasing the branches and leaves in ice. Branches were snapping off due to the heavy weight.

The dragon crashed into where Kisame was standing, causing an explosion of snow and ice shards. The spectators were unable to see Kisame under the blizzard, only to see Samehada flying out of Kisame’s hand. You ran into the blizzard, where the dragon had landed.

A blue arm shot out from under the snowy ground and Kisame emerged from underneath. You were disappointed your attack did not inflict major damage on Kisame; there were a few scratches, however, his cloak and sword were missing. He must’ve evaded the attack by hiding underground, since using water attacks would’ve been futile.

The two of you now engaged in hand-to-hand combat. You were struggling to keep up due to the massive chakra depletion, while Kisame had amazing stamina; he was not one bit fatigued. Catching your growing tiredness, Kisame sped up his punches and kicks. You were reacting too slowly to his attacks, which created an opportunity for Kisame to kick you again in the gut, causing you to fall onto the ground.

 _It was the same spot where he hit before… It was already injured from the previous kick, but now the pain is intensified. I don’t think I can continue…_ You laid on the floor motionless.

Kisame walked over to your limp body and stepped on your abdomen. You choked out a bloody cough, which splattered all over your own face.

“You are weak. I don’t understand why you were even recruited,” Kisame snickered. He continued to add pressure onto his foot, causing excessive amounts of discomfort to your gut.

_He’s… He’s truly evil… I am already in so much pain, yet he continues to inflict pain on me…_

You raised your upper body despite the immense pain. While gritting your teeth, you grabbed each of Kisame’s feet with your hands; the one he placed on your abdomen and the other one on the ground. Kisame and the others were shocked; they thought you were completely knocked out.

Using your last ounces of chakra, you began to freeze Kisame, starting from his legs.

“W-what are you doing, squirt?!” he shouted; however, his body was soon immobilized.

You shakily stood up, and black spots were forming in your field of vision. You held onto Kisame for support since you were losing your balance. You were going to spend the last of your strength on the final attack. Although Kisame won in all aspects, you were not going to let your efforts go to waste.

Mustering all the strength you could, you channeled your remaining energy into your legs and you…

.

.

.

Kneed him square in the crotch.

The last thing you heard was a yowl of pain and you blacked out.

\---

The spectators jumped down from the tree onto the snowy ground. Hidan and Deidara were howling in laughter, while Kakuzu and Sasori were amused. Tobi walked over to look at the immobilized, but highly irritated Kisame. Itachi picked up your limp body from the ground.

He immediately brought you back to your room, gingerly placing your battered body onto your futon. He briefly left your room to retrieve first aid supplies and returned shortly. He first wiped off the blood from your face with a wet cloth, then tended to the injury on your arm inflicted by Samehada. He applied antiseptic on the wound, subsequently wrapping the bandaging around it. For the other small injuries on your limbs, he did the same.

The challenge was now tending the other wounds on your body, namely where Kisame has kicked you twice. There wasn’t much he could do about the injuries, especially if there were broken bones. Itachi was going through a series of contemplation. On one hand, he wanted to check the severity of your injuries, though on the other, he hesitated to invade your privacy. He decided to go forth with the former since your life is much more important.

As he was about to remove your haori jacket, Hidan, Deidara and Tobi barged into the room. The three of them intended to visit you to see how injured you were, but instead, they walked into Itachi attempting to remove your jacket.

“Hey, bastard! Don’t you even think about it!” Hidan shouted angrily, pointing a finger at Itachi.

“He’s right, Itachi-kun, I don’t think (y/n)-chan would appreciate it if you invaded her privacy,” Tobi said, standing behind Hidan.

“I simply want to check her injuries. I do not have any ill intentions.” Itachi explained, then resumed what he was doing. Deidara began to blush, but Hidan immediately grabbed Itachi’s hand to prevent him from going further.

“Did you not hear what I fucking said?” Hidan growled.

“Please, stop being illogical. We need to assess her injuries as she may need further treatment from a medic-nin.” Itachi said calmly.

Hidan contemplated. _He’s right, but I don’t fucking like this._ He let go of Itachi’s hand and grunted. “I’m watching you, so don’t try any funny business. And you two idiots, get out of here! We don’t need the whole village in here!” he shouted.

Deidara shrugged and left the room, while Tobi trailed behind him.

Itachi finally resumed what he was doing and Hidan looked away, blushing intensely. Although Hidan was a vulgar man who did not care about others’ feelings, he felt wrong to look at your body, especially while you were unconscious. “Hey bastard, how are her injuries?” he asked while looking at the wall.

Itachi opened your haori jacket and lifted your fishnet shirt, revealing your abdomen. Your abdomen was severely bruised and there was intense swelling.

“Looks like she has broken bones. We need to get her to a medic-nin,” Itachi explained.

Hidan whipped his head around and looked at your injury. It looked grotesque, but he wasn’t bothered by that. He was more so bothered by the fact that you were heavily injured.

“Well, what are we fucking waiting for? Let’s go!” Hidan urged.

\---

Kisame was able to defrost himself by applying his chakra throughout his body. The pain in his groin has dissipated.

Kisame noticed your headband on the ground, shining under the sun. He went to pick it up and shoved it in his pocket. He smirked. He was impressed by your ability to persevere through the pain and put the last of your energy into the final “attack”.

Your unpredictable feistiness has taken him by surprise, resulting in Kisame reconsidering his opinion of you. Sure, you may be weaker than him, but he believed you were a worthy member of the Akatsuki.

You may not have won the brawl, but you have definitely won the heart of Kisame Hoshigaki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter! What did you guys think? ^_^  
> I'm sorry if I have disappointed y'all by having Reader-chan's ass getting beat, but Kisame is one of the most OP members of the Akatsuki, so he would be extremely difficult to beat xP.


	9. Celebration?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After your duel with Kisame, the Akatsuki decided to hold a party to celebrate your "victory" against Kisame... However, the event took an unexpected turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update! This is a silly (but rather long) chapter, I hope you all enjoy it!

You were knocked out for a few days. You finally woke up after two days of non-stop sleeping. You had no recollection of what happened after your battle with Kisame, except noting that you were miraculously patched up. Your abdomen was no longer in searing pain, but you were still sore and tired.

Your door opened and Itachi walked in. He was holding a bowl in one hand.

“Glad you see you’re awake, (y/n)-san. The medic-nin said you would be awake today.” he said.

You didn’t say anything until he sat down. “What happened after the battle?” you blurted.

Itachi sat down next to your futon. You looked at the bowl in his hands and noticed that there was soup inside. _Did he make that? It looks pretty good,_ you thought.

“You collapsed after delivering your final blow to Kisame. You had several broken ribs, so we brought you to a medic-nin to get you healed, along with the other injuries you had sustained. You slept for two days straight,” he replied.

 _How did he know I had broken ribs?_ You wondered. You hoped that they did not remove your clothes while you blacked out because that would be very embarrassing… However, that meant he must’ve taken care of you for the past two days while you were out. You felt extremely grateful for his care.

“Thank you for taking care of me, Itachi-san,” you murmured.

“There is no need to thank us. If you’re feeling better, I have brought some soup. It is probably best for you to drink soup prior to consuming solids,” he advised.

He helped you sit up. He passed the hot bowl of soup to you, of which you slowly began to drink. _This is delicious…_ You blushed at the thought of a man who can cook well. _He’s so handsome, caring, and he can cook, too?_ You never had a crush before, but this might be the closest thing you had to one.

A few moments later, a boisterous crowd barged into your room.

“(y/n)-CHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU’RE AWAKE!!!!!!!! I was SO worried for you, I thought you DIED!” Tobi wailed as he ran towards you. You were startled from his sudden outburst. Tobi ran towards you and kneeled next to your futon. “I brought these flowers for you, I plucked them from the forest!! I hope you like them, (y/n)-chan.”

Before you could reply, Deidara shoved Tobi out of the way, who fell over comically. “Tobi, move, you’re in the way! (y/n), I bought you some dango. I just want to say, that final blow you gave Kisame was an amazing display of performance art, un!” Deidara babbled.

Hidan joined the commotion. “SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU IDIOTS! WHY ARE YOU ALL SO FUCKING _LOUD_? SHE JUST WOKE UP!” Hidan shouted _(oh, the irony)_ , as he sat down next to Itachi. “How are you feeling, bitch? Carrying you to the medic-nin under a disguise was no easy task! You better be grateful to Jashin that I was here!”

You were surprised. You didn’t know Hidan was also taking care of you. “Oh, uhmm… thank you very much…” you said quietly.

Deidara then spoke. “(y/n), we were planning to hold a celebration party for you tomorrow night, hmm!”

“Celebration for what, exactly?” you asked. _Celebration? For what? My ass got handed back to me, is this a cruel joke?_

“Well, let’s be real, you kicking Kisame’s balls is a worthy celebration, if you ask me, hmm!” Deidara retorted.

“You should’ve seen the look on his face! Hahaha, but you couldn’t because you basically faceplanted onto the floor,” Hidan sniggered.

You ignored Hidan’s rude joke. “Uhm, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t know if Kisame would like that,” you commented. Surely, no man would be happy that a party is being held in celebration for having their balls kicked.

“Kisame agreed to join in. Even Kakuzu, that stingy geezer, is willing to go!” Hidan exclaimed.

 _Kisame?! Even_ he _agreed to this party?!_

You looked over to Itachi. “Itachi-san, what do you think?” you asked curiously. Surely, this aloof man wouldn’t participate in such a juvenile event, would he?

“I see it as a great opportunity for all of us to enjoy a night out, which is a rare occasion,” he replied as stern as ever.

You were dumbfounded. I guess you had no reason to disagree to the party.

“Come on, (y/n)-chan! We will have lots of fun, I promise!!” Tobi chimed in.

“Hmm, sure,” was the answer you gave. You’ve never been to a party before, let alone a party with a bunch of weird people…

Tobi and Hidan let out woops of excitement, and Deidara nodded approvingly.

“Well, if that’s all, I think we should let (y/n)-san rest,” Itachi suggested.

The three musketeers left your room, chattering about tomorrow’s plans. Itachi stayed back to pick up the now emptied soup bowl. “I’ll come back with a vase for the flowers,” he said. He left the room briefly and returned with a glass vase with flowers. He gently placed Tobi’s flowers into the vase.

You glanced at the dango. You recognized the packaging as the ones you bought the other day when you went to town with Deidara. They tasted the best while they’re fresh, but you had no appetite. You weren’t sure if Itachi, who is very stoic, would enjoy sweet desserts like dango, but you wished to thank him for his care.

“Itachi-san, do you like dango? They taste amazing when they’re fresh, but I don’t have an appetite. Would you like them?” you offered.

For the first time since you’ve met, Itachi’s face slightly lit up. “Well, if you are sure, (y/n)-san…” he murmured.

You nodded and handed the package to him.

“Thank you very much. I will let you rest now.” he said. He turned around and left your room.

Although his face was lit up for a very brief moment, your heart began to flutter. _Itachi is so adorable… He does not look like the type of person to enjoy a sweet treat like dango, but that makes him even more charming…_

You slipped back into your futon, giggling like a teenage girl. Perhaps this is a sign of a budding crush?

\---

The next evening, you were feeling a lot better compared to the day before. You started eating solid foods that the other members have kindly brought to you. It was odd seeing how these people who wanted to kill you were now being so nice to you. You couldn’t help to feel a little wary of their intentions, but you chided yourself for being ungrateful.

There was a knock on your door. You went to answer the door and you were staring at someone’s chest. You looked up and saw Kisame. Your fight or flight instincts instantly kicked in, but you suppressed them.

“No need to be so tense, squirt. I’m just here to let you know we are heading out soon,” he explained. Then, you saw him digging his hand into his pocket and retrieved something. “Also, you dropped this the other day.”

He put his hand out and you saw your mother’s headband. _Oh crap! I totally forgot about it!_

You grabbed it from his hand and immediately tied it around your neck. “Thank you.”

“Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that good job on the fight the other day. You’re not as weak as I thought,” he admitted.

You widened your eyes in surprise. You didn’t expect him to praise you after all the belittling he had done.

“Don’t take that to your head, though. You still need lots of practice,” he added, while smiling with his pointy teeth.

The two of you walked to the common area, where the rest of the Akatsuki were waiting. You realized they were all wearing their cloaks except you. You turned around to get yours, but Sasori spoke up. “Where are you going? We were all waiting for you and it’s time to go. I hate waiting,” he spat venomously.

You turned back around and left the base with the other members. _Wow, that was rude…_

You and the rest of the posse left the base and began to walk to a nearby izakaya.

\---

Upon arrival, the waitress brought your group to a private room. You have never been to an izakaya before, so you didn’t know what to expect. The other members appear to be comfortable, as they probably often frequent izakayas when they had the chance. You randomly chose a seat next to Hidan, as there wasn’t anyone in particular you really wanted to sit next to (well, actually, you were too shy to sit next to Itachi because you’re socially awkward). Hidan was secretly happy that you chose the seat next to him. Tobi ran to the spot next to you, only to have Deidara push him aside. Deidara plopped down to sit next to you.

“Hey! Deidara-senpai, I chose that seat first!! I wanted to sit next to (y/n)-chan, no fair!!” Tobi whined.

“Too bad, Tobi. You were too slow to sit down. Choose another seat, hmm!” Deidara smugly replied.

You felt bad for Tobi. You didn’t mind sitting next to him. You watched him sadly choose a seat diagonally across from you. _Man, I feel bad for Tobi. I’ll move next to him._

You stood up to the surprise of Hidan and Deidara. Before you could move, Hidan grabbed your hand and harshly pulled you back down to sit. _Ow!_ You turned to glare at him.

“Just fucking sit down! The quicker we settle down, the quicker we can order food!” he snapped, though he was clearly lying; he just wanted you to sit next to him.

 _Kami, he’s always so aggressive!_ You crossed your arms and unintentionally puffed out your cheeks in anger, causing Hidan to blush from your adorableness.

Soon, every member settled down and were chattering amongst themselves. Kakuzu, of course, was in charge of ordering food and drinks for the group. He mandated a strict budget as he did not see a reason to overindulge. You sat quietly as you weren’t much of a conversationalist, but to be frank, you didn’t mind keeping to yourself. However, it was extremely awkward in a social setting, especially everyone else seemed to be talking to another person. During your childhood, you never built a foundation for social skills, thus, you ended up as an extremely awkward human being. If you sat next to Tobi, he would’ve chattered away, and you wouldn’t even need to say a word.

Deidara suddenly nudged you. “Hey, newbie, you agreed with me that true art is the fleeting moment of an explosion, right? Tell that to my man, Sasori, hmm!” Deidara exclaimed.

You looked at him blankly, then looked at the ever-so creepy Sasori. “Oh, uhh… Definitely. I agree,” you scrambled to reply, although you only said that to pretend you were paying attention to Deidara the other day.

“You uncultured swine. Fine art is everlasting, not something transient and disappears in an instant!” he replied aggressively.

 _Woah, buddy. No need to get worked up… I don’t know anything about art, and I don’t need to be dragged into this feud between the two…_ “I—”

Before you could continue, the waitresses entered the room with the food and beverages, setting it onto the table. You didn’t expect the mountain of food, as Kakuzu was in charge of ordering, but there was a surprising quantity and variety of food being laid out.

The waitresses left the room, and everybody began to pour themselves a cup of sake. You had a bottle in front of you, but you have never drunk alcohol before.

“Hey bitch, why aren’t you pouring yourself a cup?” Hidan asked. Without your permission, he was pouring some sake into your cup.

“I don’t drink,” you replied honestly.

“You’re always such a fucking killjoy. Is there a stick up your ass? For Jashin’s sake, let loose for once!” he said in an exasperated manner.

You picked up the glass. You took a sniff, and you scrunched your face in disgust. The smell slightly burned your nose and it smelled slightly sweet.

“Looks like the squirt has never drank before, just look at that expression!” Kisame laughed deeply, who sat directly across from you.

“Maybe if she drank some, she would let loose for once,” Kakuzu commented.

“Oh, come on, just fucking try it,” Hidan encouraged.

You stared at the transparent liquid. You were kind of scared of how it would taste, since you didn’t particularly like the smell. Building up your courage, you tipped the small cup to your lips and downed the drink.

You immediately coughed. The sweet liquid burned your throat slightly and had a mild bitter aftertaste.

Everyone around you laughed at your reaction. You blushed from embarrassment and furrowed your brows. _The rest of the Akatsuki probably think I’m a loser…_ Little did you know they thought your reaction was adorable.

Everybody began to dig into the delicious food. You haven’t had such delicacies in a long time, so you helped yourself. You found yourself drinking sake as you ate; the drink was more tolerable when consumed with food. However, you were losing track of how many drinks you had…

Your body was feeling warm and fuzzy, especially your cheeks. Despite being silent most of the meal, you felt the urge to speak. There was an overwhelming amount of feelings and thoughts overflowing in your brain that wished to be released. With the alcohol in your system, you felt confident and courageous.

You suddenly slammed your hand onto the table, shocking everyone. They all turned their heads to look at you. Your cheeks were extremely flushed, and your eyes were determined.

“(y/n)-san… Are you alright? Did you have too much to drink?” Itachi asked. Although he did not sound concerned, he was worried about your current state.

“I have things to say,” you said rather aggressively.

“Oh, this is gonna be good,” Hidan said with a smirk. He was expecting you to share embarrassing memories or something humiliating about yourself.

You snapped your head to face Hidan. “I have a lot of fucking things to say about you, you asshole! You know what? You’re so fucking mean to me all the time and I hate you so much! You’re always mocking me and calling me a bitch, but guess what? You’re the biggest fucking bitch I know! And also, I don’t fucking care about Jashin or whatever shit you worship!” you screamed in his face. The members were **shook** that you had so much to say, let alone your true feelings.

“HEY, WATCH YOUR FUCKING MOUTH, BITCH! I’m going to fucking sacrifice you—” Hidan growled angrily, causing Kakuzu to hold him back. _NO ONE DARES TO INSULT JASHIN!_

“SHUT THE FUCK UP! I’M NOT DONE YET!” you yelled, slamming your fists onto the table again. The members were thoroughly entertained by your out-of-character behaviour.

You looked away from Hidan and eyed Kakuzu viciously. Normally, Kakuzu scared the shit out of you, but the alcohol made you brave enough to stare directly into his green and red eyes. “You. I only have one thing to say to you. Why are you such a fucking cheapskate?! I will never forgive you for making me stay in the same room as you and this freak over here,” you said angrily. Kakuzu was speechless, but a few other members coughed out a chuckle, because they agree that Kakuzu is a stingy bastard.

You looked to the other side of you, at Deidara. He looked worried about what you had to say about him. “You know, I’ll just be honest with you. I don’t give a damn about art. In fact, I don’t even know what you’re talking about half the time. I was only pretending to listen to you spew your bullshit. Although I gotta say the bird was really cool. Just to let you know, I’m never flying on it again; I nearly shat my pants. And you should stop bullying Tobi, he’s a very nice guy and you’re always pushing him around. Also, I really hate the fact that you have nicer hair than me. That’s not allowed. What shampoo do you use?” you rambled. Deidara was offended from the beginning of your verbal diarrhea but became increasingly confused as you went on. He had no retorts to make.

You looked away from Deidara and eyed your next victim. Conveniently, Sasori was sitting next to Deidara. “Ya know, since the first day I joined this circus, I always why you looked so friggen creepy. I don’t want to be rude and I mean to ask this genuinely, but what the hell are you? Your back is preeeeeeeeeeeeeeettty messed up, judging by how crooked it is. If you need a chiropractor, I could probably hook you up,” you said genuinely. Then, you remembered how rude he was, and you _needed_ to comment on that. “Also, you’re very fucking rude! Did anyone ever teach you manners?”

“You’re making me very angry, and when I’m angry, things never end well…” Sasori’s stinger/tail began to rise.

“Calm down, Sasori, the squirt’s a lightweight and she had a bit too much to drink…” Kisame intervened, noting the hostile energy emitting from Sasori.

You whipped your head to the direction of the Kisame’s voice. You stood up suddenly, causing everyone to be shocked once again. You angrily pointed your finger at Kisame. “Who gave you the fucking permission to speak?!? Stop trying to be a pacifist, you sadistic asshole!”. You angrily picked up a piece of food from the table and threw it at Kisame, who didn’t even bother to dodge. He smirked from how worked up you were. “That’s for breaking my ribs the other day!”

“Aw squirt, you already gave me pay back that day,” he sneered, purposely trying to rile you up.

You bared your teeth, and you were about to leap across the table to throw a few punches, but thankfully, the two men beside you had quick reflexes and was holding your arms back. You were violently squirming and kicking your legs up, yelling profanities at Kisame. He was clearly enjoying the show.

Admittedly, Itachi was secretly entertained from your honesty throughout the night, but it was getting out of hand. You were getting violent while under the influence of alcohol, which could potentially be disastrous as you weren’t making decisions out of your own control.

Itachi stood up, which caught your attention. You stared right into his eyes, which were bright red. Unknowingly, while staring into his eyes, he casted a genjutsu on you. At an instant, your squirming body went limp in the arms of the two men, who laid you down onto the ground.

Itachi removed his cloak and walked over to your unconscious body and placed it on top of you. “I put her under a genjutsu to calm her down. I’ll release it after a few hours when she regains sobriety,” Itachi explained. Everyone let out a breath of relief, they didn’t know if they could handle another round of merciless roasting from (y/n).

“Awww, I wanted to hear what (y/n)-chan has to say about me!” Tobi cried. Everybody glared at Tobi, who immediately shut up after receiving many death stares.

\---

While you were mellowed out under Itachi’s genjutsu, the rest of the members continued their meal. The members were initially very angry at you, but their anger gradually dissipated as the night went on. Everybody’s egos were a bit damaged after you have relentlessly roasted them with absolutely no filter. Everyone was surprised you held such strong feelings towards them, despite your quiet and reserved nature. However, they were grown men and decided to not let your harsh comments damage their pride. Instead, they decided to have a nice chuckle of the night’s events. It was still fun and nice to relax, as this was a rare treat for the group.

After the meal, Itachi picked up your unconscious body (to Hidan’s displeasure) and draped you over his back, piggybacking you. The group walked back together and chatted amongst themselves. Itachi was listening to your rhythmic breathing. Itachi wondered how tough it was for you to adjust to this new lifestyle, resulting in so much resentment you held towards the Akatsuki members. Perhaps the unwelcoming atmosphere of the Akatsuki didn’t allow you to properly convey your feelings? Or was that just an inherent personality trait of yours? Whatever the reason, he hoped that you will become comfortable in expressing your feelings and thoughts in the future. He understood how extremely difficult it was to keep everything to yourself, as he himself was guilty of doing so.

The group arrived back at the base and everyone left to their respective rooms. Itachi carried you back to your room and carefully placed you into your futon. He raised two fingers and released you from the genjutsu. Your eyes remained closed, but you began to mumble, and your breathing began to hitch. Feeling concerned, Itachi inched closer to listen.

“I… I miss you, mom…” you mumbled. Tears began to stream down your face. “I’m sorry for… For… Killing you… Will you forgive me?”. You began to sob.

Instinctively, Itachi began you swipe away your tears with his thumbs. He felt ashamed for inadvertently invading your privacy; your admission of killing your mother must’ve been something you were not intending to share with others. Your reserved nature suddenly made sense to him.

However, Itachi felt empathetic, although he did not know what circumstances you were under to cause you to murder your own mother. His own parents died by his hands and the feeling of guilt would remain in his body until the day he leaves this world. “I’m sure she will forgive you, (y/n),” he whispered softly. His own mother, before her own death, showed great understanding to him despite holding opposing philosophies. He believed that your mother would forgive you no matter what.

Itachi remained by your side until you finished crying and fell asleep. He stood up and walked out your door. He noted to prevent you from consuming alcohol in the future; alcohol was no different from a truth serum.

\---

The next morning, you woke up with a horrible headache. You had no recollection of what happened the night before. _What the hell happened?_

You noticed a cloak that did not belong to you was covering you under the futon blanket. It was larger than yours and it did not smell like yours. You took a longer sniff. It smelled nice… A very familiar scent.

Your eyes widened and your face immediately blushed a deep red. You chastised yourself for being creepy for immediately recognizing _his_ scent.

_Kami, this is Itachi’s cloak! Why is it here?!_

Instinctively, you looked under the covers to make sure you were still clothed, which thankfully, you were.

_I should give this back… I hope I didn’t steal it from him or something…_

Although your head was still hurting, you stood up from your futon to return the cloak to Itachi. You left your room and to your surprise, all the members were sitting in the common area.

_Oh boy… I’m just going to turn back around now—_

“Hey bitch! You finally woke up! How hung over are you?” Hidan yelled, which didn’t help your headache at all.

You turned around and gave him a confused look. _‘Hung over’?_

“Wait… Don’t tell me you forgot everything, squirt!” Kisame exclaimed.

“Judging by how confused she looks, she definitely forgot how much she drank, hmm!” Deidara commented.

“Oh no, (y/n)-chan! Do you have amnesia?? Do we need to bring you to a medical-nin???” Tobi cried, running over to you and placing a gloved hand onto your forehead.

“No… I don’t know what you’re talking about… But uhm, I think I accidentally took someone’s cloak, and I came out to return it,” you muttered quietly. You didn’t admit that you knew it was Itachi’s cloak just from the smell, especially with the fact that you didn’t remember what happened.

Everyone laughed at your obliviousness. _Why am I always the laughingstock? I actually don’t know what happened!_

Itachi walked towards you and retrieved his cloak. “Do you want to know what happened, (y/n)-san?” Itachi asked. He felt that it was only right to let you know what happened, but omitting a few details, of course.

“Yes, please…” you replied. You were starting to internally panic; what was so funny that everyone remembered except you?!

You sat down with the other members and they started to give you a run down of the events of the previous night. Each member relayed to you of how much sake you drank and how you began to slam tables and started insulting everyone. They gave examples of what you said, and ooooh boy, you are screwed. You even tried to climb over the table and attack Kisame! As they continued, the colour drained from your face and you started to clench your hands, digging your nails into your palms. _Oh Kami… This is so embarrassing, holy fuck. I think I am going to dig a hole and bury myself now!_

You immediately stood up and bowed 90 degrees, avoiding eye contact with everyone. “I-I sincerely apologize for my callous behaviour and I promise to repent for my wrongdoings!”

Everyone was speechless from your sudden apology but guffawed loudly. You raised your head, and your face became the shade of a ripe tomato. _Why are they laughing?! I didn’t even say anything funny!_

“I hate to admit this, but you are truly amusing,” Sasori commented.

As everyone continued to laugh, you ran back to your room and hid in your futon, promising to never see the light of day again.

_I sincerely regret not having my body sent to the bounty office…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed it, thanks so much for reading! Are you guys annoyed by how dense Reader-chan is? Haha!


	10. Who Are You? (x2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (y/n) meets two mysterious figures at the Akatsuki base. Who are they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy this chapter - Can you guess who the mysterious figures are?

A week has passed since your horrendous “celebration” party, and you have gone on various simple missions, of which, thankfully, were all solo missions. You finally got a day off and decided to spend the day at the base. Most of the other members were out for missions; at least that’s what you recalled from last week’s scheduling. Giddy that you finally get some alone time, you looked to your beloved koto.

It has been a long time since you’ve played the koto. You weren’t comfortable playing in the base, since you were worried that the members would be annoyed. However, with most of the members gone, it wouldn’t hurt to pluck a few strings to relax…

You brought your koto with you to the field in the back of the base and you began to play. You played a variety of songs from your vast mental repertoire. You were washed over by a feeling of nostalgia, thinking about the days before you joined the Akatsuki. You thought about your former boss and you wondered if he was worried about your sudden disappearance.

You were so absorbed in your thoughts and music that you didn’t notice someone watching you from behind. This person smirked from your absentmindedness. He walked up right behind you and kneeled down, placing his chin onto your shoulder. His face was so close that your cheek touched his, causing you to flinch violently.

“My, my. I did not expect such a violent reaction from you,” the person murmured.

Your heart was racing quickly. _How did I not notice someone behind me?_

You turned your body to look at who invaded your personal space.

Standing behind you was a young man with bright red hair. He had a very beautiful face; he resembled a doll. His eyes were half-lidded, giving him with a dreamy expression. Like the other Akatsuki members, he also wore the signature cloak of the group. However, you did not recognize this man at all.

“Wh-who are you?” you stammered. His sneak attack took you by surprise, causing your body to react in fear.

“You mean you don’t recognize me? Tsk, I knew you were stupid, but I didn’t expect you to be _this_ stupid,” the man sneered.

You looked at him once over. _Does the Akatsuki members know how to shapeshift? I genuinely don’t know this guy… Unless… Is he the leader of the group? Oh shit!_

“A-are you Leader-sama?” you asked nervously.

“Woman, you are truly an amusing specimen. Just when I called you stupid, you somehow outplayed yourself. Well, since you are so oblivious, why don’t we get to know each other better? Come with me, I’ll show you something and maybe you will know who I am,” he asked, smiling sweetly.

As charming as he looked, you had an off feeling about this. You absolutely had no idea of who he was.

“Why can’t you just tell me who you are? Why would I go somewhere with someone I don’t know?” you retorted.

“Because that’s the fun of it all. I promise I won’t hurt you…” he replied slyly.

“It’s really okay… We can just talk here, sir…” you were adamant of staying here. If anything, you will stand up and attack if he tries anything funny.

The man sighed. “I usually 'get rid' of stubborn individuals, but because you bring me so much amusement, I feel like playing with you for a bit.”

The man suddenly raised his hand. You reacted by standing up with the intention to attack; only to notice your limbs were immobile. “Wh-what’s happening?!”

“Well, since you were being so hard to work with, I decided to make it easier for the both of us,” the man twitched his fingers and you started to walk towards the base.

 _Fuck! How is he controlling my body?_ Your heart was racing very rapidly, of which the vibrations were felt by the man through his fingers. He smiled sadistically.

The two of you were now in the base and you were led down the hall, into an unfamiliar room. The two of you entered the room, of which was dark as the curtains were drawn and no lights were turned on. The man closed the door behind the two of you.

Your eyes were not acclimated to the dark room and you were shaking violently from fear. _What is he going to do to me? Assault me? Kill me?! Kami, help!_

“Dear, you are shaking so violently! Didn’t I tell you? I said I wouldn’t hurt you…” the man whispered into your ear and you felt his lips brush over your ear.

“Get away from me, you freak! Who the hell are you?!” you shrieked, losing your cool.

“You hide your true self so well. When in reality, you are a really feisty girl! I love that about you. You would truly make a great addition to my puppet collection,” he purred.

It suddenly clicked in your mind. _Puppet… Someone said that to me on the first day!_

“Sasori!” you growled. You tried to move your limbs, but you couldn’t.

“Took you long enough to realize,” he said sarcastically. The lights suddenly turned on. Around you, you saw a table, which had an array of scrolls. Along the walls, you noticed a bunch of figures. You noticed a familiar one, one with a stinger and a ghastly face.

“T-then who is that?” you asked, pointing your gaze at the creepy puppet of whom you thought was the “real” Sasori.

“That, my dear, is one of my favourite creations, Hiruko. He makes great armour and he’s quite deadly.” He said sweetly. You noticed that his voice was no longer deep and hoarse, in fact, he had quite a lovely voice.

“C-can you let me go, please? I know who you are now!” you cried in a frustrated manner.

“No, no, silly girl. I finally have you all to myself. You have such fine abilities; I must turn you into an eternal piece of art! Wouldn’t you like that? To preserve your beautiful face and body into something _forever_ ,” he persuaded.

_He’s such a freak! What the hell!_

“I know you have no understanding in art, but why don’t you acquaint yourself with the true definition of art… By becoming one yourself?” he continued.

_Is that supposed to be convincing?! Hell to the NO!_

You screamed frantically. “I DON’T WANT TO BE FUCKING ART, YOU BASTARD! LET GO OF ME!” you growled while attempting to move your arms, which failed miserably.

Sasori clamped a hand over your mouth. “Hush, I promise it won’t hurt… Now if you would stay still…”

\---

Pain had entered the base, which was a rare occasion for him. Pain spent most of his time watching over Amegakure, the small village he led. However, he decided to drop by the base to take the opportunity to meet you. Konan was always the one who dispatched missions to you while he tended to the larger goals of the Akatsuki. Pain came with the intention to speak with you the objectives and philosophies of the Akatsuki as you were now a member of the group. It is fundamental for every member to align their loyalty and vision with that of the Akatsuki.

Upon entrance to the base, Pain heard a startling scream from a female voice. Pain’s adept sensory skills led him to the front of Sasori’s door. Immediately, he kicked the door open to find Sasori clamping his mouth over a struggling (y/n).

“Shinra Tensei!” Pain yelled. At the same moment, Sasori was sent flying to the back of the room and you were instantly freed from Sasori’s chakra threads.

You regained your balance and widened your eyes. You looked to the direction of the deep voice and saw a handsome, orange-haired man who had several piercings on his face and ears. You also noted that his eyes were uniquely purple with rings. Alike the other members, he also wore the Akatsuki cloak. _Okay, why are so many mysterious people popping up today?!_

“Are you alright?” the orange-haired man directly asked you. He was extremely intimidating, especially with his strong gaze. You felt yourself shrink in his presence.

“Y-yes, thank you for saving my life,” you choked out, sighing in relief.

“Sasori, you are not to turn (y/n) into a puppet, do you understand?” the man said in a dignified manner.

“Pain-sama, I was just teasing the newcomer, there was no need to get serious,” Sasori replied. However, despite Sasori’s joke, it was evident that he would not disobey the heavily pierced man.

_“Sama”? Who is this man?_

“Well, if you are done with her, I will take her now. Come with me,” the man commanded. You left Sasori’s room with the mystery man, not turning back to look at the bastard.

“Goodbye, (y/n). I will play with you next time,” you heard Sasori whisper sadistically before he closed his door, causing you to shudder.

“(y/n), how are you adjusting to the Akatsuki?” the man asked you as you trailed behind him. The man had an aura that told you he held high authority within the organization. As you were in his presence, you tried to minimize yourself as much as possible, as if to give room to his powerful and charismatic aura.

“I-it’s been okay,” you lied. Plenty of things occurred during your short stay with the group, however, you were not comfortable with revealing the hardships you have endured.

“I am happy to hear you are adjusting well. I have yet to introduce myself; I apologize for not doing so earlier. I am Pain, and to some, I am God. To you, I am your leader,” he introduced.

 _So, he is the leader of this circus! But he called himself a “God”?_ You internally pondered.

“(y/n), do you know why the Akatsuki was established?” he asked, while his back was turned to you.

You paused. To be frank, you didn’t know what the purpose of Akatsuki was. So far, all you did was hunt down wanted criminals to collect money along with other menial tasks. “I’m not sure, Leader-sama,” you replied frankly.

Pain turned and looked down at you. “The Akatsuki’s founding principle is to revive peace to this desolate world. However, in a world where shinobi exist, true peace will not be obtained. In order for all conflict to cease, this world must know pain; so much destruction and death that the world will willingly avoid all warfare.” He took a pause before continuing. “To fulfill this objective, our long-term goal is to capture the ten tailed beasts and harness their chakra to create a powerful jutsu to eradiate the parties in a conflict, instigating fear to the rest of the world. Do you understand?”

You gulped. You didn’t understand. Perhaps due to your naivety, but you personally thought that the Akatsuki’s process in obtaining true peace was superficial. The tactic they were using was to instill fear into everyone. Despite your personal beliefs, you silently nodded in response.

“The Akatsuki’s current objective is to acquire enough capital to support our organization, hence why you and the other members are currently placed on missions to provide mercenary services to other countries. Along with acquiring capital, the purpose of providing mercenary services is to have countries rely on our services rather than the shinobi villages. In the coming future, you will assist the ten core members of the organization to collect intel on the tailed beasts, and eventually, capturing them,” he explained. “This world suffers from the cycle of hatred and it is our duty to facilitate the cessation of suffering.”

You stood silently, taking in all this information. It was extremely overwhelming to learn that you were essentially in a terrorist organization. This didn’t sit well with you, but under Pain’s stare, you merely nodded obediently to all that he had said thus far.

“You and I are no different, (y/n); I am sure you have experienced pain yourself. That pain manifests into hatred, of which I know you understand,” Pain said, looking right into your eyes, as if probing your mind for your deepest secrets.

You remained silent, although he was right. The crimes you have committed in your past all stemmed from hatred.

“I have heard many wonderful things about you, (y/n). Konan has praised your abilities of completing missions efficiently and that the other members are quite fond of your company. You may not realize it, but we recognize your formidable abilities. You are a vital component of helping the Akatsuki achieve our plan,” Pain said. He knew his way with words. He previously mentioned that you and him, a god, were similar. Now, he emphasized your importance in the organization and your contribution will allow the group to succeed in fulfilling their goals. He was using manipulative tactics and you realized that. However, you also felt compelled to appease him and obey his orders.

“Thank you for your kind words,” you replied quietly.

“I shall take my leave now, and I hope to see you soon. I bid my farewell.” Pain said. You walked Pain to the front door and bowed respectfully when he left.

After you closed the door, you rewinded the entire conversation you had with him and shuddered. There was no way you could defy the Akatsuki, as that would only mean digging a grave for yourself. Escaping was also not an option; the members were all formidable trackers, and you would be absolute toast if you were caught. The only option was to obediently comply to their orders.

You thought about all the terror you have brought upon the world, from killing your parents, your father’s family, your former friend Kiko, and Kado. You felt like a hypocrite for questioning Pain and the Akatsuki’s philosophies as you were not a good person yourself. However, to use terror to create “peace”, especially at such a grand scale, was inevitably wrong, even by your skewed moral standards.

You silently walked back to your room, locking the room door, and slid into your futon. You didn’t even bother picking up your koto that was left in the yard. You felt so alone and small in this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading! ^_^ I feel like this fic has a lot of random twist and turns LOL, so I sincerely apologize for that. :')


	11. Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader and Hidan were dispatched for another mission together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Ready for some more Hidan x Reader? Please enjoy! ^_^

A week after your meeting with Pain, Konan assigned you on a new mission. The mission was relatively simple, it was a “capture this person, kill them, and bring them to the bounty office” mission. Usually, Kakuzu was assigned to these missions (and was often thrilled to be doing them), however Kakuzu was unable to go as he was scheduled to meet with Pain and Zetsu to discuss some treasury issues. Konan didn’t trust Hidan to be running off on his own, thus she assigned you to keep him in check. You let out a heavy sigh and accepted the mission; you really had no other choice. Hidan, on the other hand, was excited to be partnered with you. He had warm, fuzzy feelings just thinking about getting to spend time with you _alone_.

Early next morning, the two of you left the base and headed into the forest.

“Alright, bi—,” Hidan bit his tongue and tried to refrain himself from calling you a “bitch” after you drunkenly told him you hated that. “Alright, (y/n), I’m calling dibs this time to kill the bastard. I’m itching to get a sacrifice in today,” he said, rubbing his hands together.

You gave him the side eye. _I guess I will finally know how he performs his sacrifices now…_

“You know, it’s pretty fucking annoying how you never speak. Why are you so fucking quiet all the time? Do you only speak when you’re drunk?” he smirked.

“Or maybe it’s because I don’t want to talk to you,” you replied honestly.

Hidan was tempted to go off on an angry tirade and berate you, but he sucked in a deep breath and calmed himself down. He also remembered you hated him because you thought he was mean.

“Fine, I guess I won’t fucking talk to you either,” he said, storming off ahead of you. To be honest, he wanted to take some time alone and think about a few things. You shrugged and trailed after the taller man.

In his mind, Hidan was trying to figure out why he cared about you so much. Hidan, like you, did not understand the feeling of romantic love. Hidan didn’t compute the fuzzy feelings he felt towards you as love because he never experienced something like this before. Throughout his life, Hidan never cared about anyone and his main focus was to recruit as many Jashinists as possible. He was also fixated on the pleasure he received from killing and making sacrifices to his beloved god. However, he realized that perhaps this giddy feeling he gets whenever he’s around you were something akin to love; hence he sought after your validation.

Similarly, your family dynamic with your mother and father has skewed your perception of love, thus, that emotion was never registered in your heart. Unlike other young women, you never pursued romantic relationships with anyone, and the closest thing you had to a crush was Itachi. As such, you failed to realize how much Hidan has cared for you, such as helping you warm up before your battle with Kisame, bringing you to the medic-nin when you were injured, or helping you patch up your injuries. You were so fogged by negativity that you also didn’t notice his actions of affection.

\---

After a few hours of walking, the two of you went to a small town along the way for a short lunch break. Without Kakuzu around, you two were able to freely spend money on whatever you wanted.

The two of you decided to go to a small udon store. The two of you sat in a booth and was then greeted by an elderly lady who came with two cups of tea. You picked up your cup and started drinking the soothing tea.

“Ah, welcome to the store. What may I get for this beautiful couple?” she asked with a smile.

You spat out your drink, of which sprayed all over Hidan. Hidan’s eyes started twitching and he clenched his fist and teeth. Your eyes widened and you began to profusely apologizing. You started to frantically wipe his face, neck and bare chest with your cloak sleeve. Hidan’s anger dissipated and began to blush as he noticed where you were touching. You noticed as well, and immediately retracted your arm.

“Oh! Don’t use your sleeve, dear! I will give your husband a cloth to clean up,” the granny said.

You almost fell over. “HE’S NOT MY HUSBAND!” you half-screamed, startling the granny and Hidan. Your face turned tomato red.

“I’m terribly sorry for assuming, dear! But you two make such a beautiful couple. I shall return with a cloth, so please excuse me,” the granny explained, then turned around to go get a washcloth.

Hidan couldn’t help but to smirk at how flustered you were. “You wish I was your husband,” he drawled.

“Shut the fuck up, asshole. Not in this life nor the next. Not even in Hell!” you scowled.

“Mmmm, but you were fucking feeling me up. I bet you liked that,” he continued, giving you a sly smile.

“Why are you so disgusting? Aren’t you supposed to be a man of ‘Jashin’?” you hissed, while air-quoting “Jashin”.

“Don’t act like you fucking know the religion, bitch. But… I do think Jashin would approve of you as my wife…” he pestered. He gave you a side glance to gage your reaction.

You were about to slap the shit out of him for even suggesting that, but the granny returned with a cloth and gave it to Hidan. While she was here, you ordered a bowl of udon for yourself, while Hidan did the same.

When your noodles came, you furiously munched your noodles and after you finished, you slapped down your share of the money and stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air. You were about to explode from Hidan’s constant pestering and the embarrassing conversation that occurred earlier.

_Kami! Why did the granny have to say that? I would NEVER marry Hidan even if he was the last man on this planet! Admittedly, he is really good looking, but he’s still a massive dickface._

While you were spacing out, Hidan exited the restaurant and noticed you zoning out. He slapped the back of your head, causing you to slightly stumble.

You looked up angrily at the silver-haired man and glared at him. The taller man looked down and smirked at your pissed off face, resisting the urge to pinch your cheeks. You grunted and you stormed off ahead.

“Hey! Wait up! I was just playing with you, yeesh!” Hidan called, running after you.

\---

It didn’t take much time after lunch for the two of you to locate the target. Hidan was excited to perform a sacrifice today; he was bloodthirsty as ever. You were just there to ensure he doesn’t get too carried away, since Kakuzu did say the bounty collectors did not appreciate overly mauled bodies.

The two of you silently perched on a tree branch and carefully eyed the target. The target was Ito Yoshi, a rogue nin who was wanted for betraying his small ninja village by distributing confidential information to a rival village. The bounty on his head was 10,000,000 ryo.

“Alright, bi—(y/n). Watch me carefully, I’ll show you the glory of Jashin today…” he hollered. He let out a psychopathic cackle and jumped down from the tree. You stayed where you were. _Fuck, he’s a crazy bastard._

You watched Hidan approach the surprised Yoshi. “Hey. Would you like to hear more about the way of Jashin?” you heard him ask Yoshi.

 _What the heck? I thought we were here to kill the guy, not recruit him into a cult._ You gave yourself a face-palm at the interaction.

“And who the hell are you? What do you want?” Yoshi replied.

“Well, it doesn’t sound like you’re interested. I guess I only have one option then…” Hidan taunted. You watched him draw his large scythe from his back. You jumped to a tree closer to where they were standing.

Yoshi responded to Hidan’s movements by throwing shuriken at Hidan, only to have them deflected by the scythe. Hidan let out another wild cackle.

Yoshi began attacking Hidan using taijutsu, but Hidan was a formidable taijutsu user. Yoshi sensed that he did not have a chance against Hidan, therefore he changed his strategy to evasion. Yoshi attempted to run away from Hidan, however, Hidan used his scythe, which had an extendable wire. Hidan’s scythe extended and Yoshi, who couldn’t dodge in time, got slightly scratched, but he managed to escape from further injury.

“(y/n), do you mind freezing the bastard for me? I need to pray first,” Hidan called out to you.

You stared back at him flabbergasted. “Are you fucking kidding me? We are in a middle of a mission, and you want to fucking pray?” you asked incredulously.

“Just do as I say! I have commandments to follow!” he shouted back, irritated. You watched him remove the necklace around his neck and he closed his eyes and placed the necklace to his lips. You stared at him in disbelief. _What the fuck is wrong with him?_

You ran after Yoshi. _Ice style: crystal mist!_ You first created a fog so Yoshi would become disoriented. After finding the confused Yoshi, he sensed you and he began to engage in a taijutsu battle with you. You ducked down from his punches and swayed away from his kicks. You blocked the strong swing of his leg with your forearms. Although he was strong, you were quicker than him. You returned speedy punches back at his face, knocking him down. You were collecting water particles from the greenery around you and you froze him in place. You then released the mist jutsu.

After regaining visibility, you saw that Hidan has completed his prayers. The next few sights were baffling to you.

You watched Hidan lick his scythe. Apparently, his scythe drew blood from the injury he inflicted upon Yoshi. Strangely, Hidan’s skin turned black and he has white markings all over his body. The markings on his face resembled a skull. Next, Hidan began to use blood to draw a circle on the ground with his left foot and a triangle inside of that circle, resembling the pendant on his silver necklace.

This was all so strange for you, you only stared at him with your mouth open in awe. _W-what is he? This is definitely a first for me…_

Hidan began to cackle like a maniac again. “We are going to suffer TOGETHER!” he cried in joy. You watched Hidan produce a sharpened black rod. You watched as he raised his hand with the rod and he…

Stabbed himself in the arm.

You gasped, while Hidan cried out in pleasure and Yoshi next to you began to cry in pain.

You eyed the victim next to you. Yoshi’s arm was bleeding, but no direct contact was made. _So this was what happened to me! This is really fucked up…_

Hidan continued to stab himself multiple. With every stab was accompanied by pleasurable cries while Yoshi let out painful yelps. You were extremely disturbed by what you witnessed but intrigued at the same time.

“Now… You will DIE!!” Hidan yelled. With one final raise of the arm, Hidan plunged the black rod into his own heart and you watched him collapse. At an instant, Yoshi beside stopped struggling and went limp, bleeding to his death.

“HIDAN!” you cried out. You ran to your partner and knelt down beside him.

You frantically shook your motionless comrade. You just witnessed your teammate kill himself and you began to panic. You weren’t sure what to do, so you placed your ear over his mouth to check if he was still breathing.

A hand grabbed you by the back of your neck and you were pushed down onto Hidan. You gasped in surprise.

“Hahaha, bitch, you though I died, didn’t you?!” Hidan laughed hysterically. You realized it was Hidan’s arm that pushed you down.

You forced yourself up from his strong grip. You looked at Hidan furiously, _livid_ he would pull such a trick on you.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Kami, that wasn’t fucking funny, I genuinely thought you were dead!” you screamed at his face. You felt tears on the brim of your eyes, which was a first for you in many years.

Hidan reverted back to his normal skin colour and yanked the rod from his heart. You noticed that his wounds healed instantly.

“Just wanted to see how you’d react if I died, ahahaha,” he goaded.

You stood up and kicked Hidan as hard as you could, causing him to cry in pain.

“What the fuck was that for, bitch? Can’t you take a joke?” he asked angrily.

You didn’t bother to answer him. You turned around angrily and went to pick up Yoshi’s body, which was quite heavy, but you were tired of Hidan’s shit. You just wanted to get the mission over with and go back to the base.

Hidan stood up from and started to feel bad. He didn’t expect you to get so angry, or in fact, cared about him dying. He ran after you, who was struggling to carry Yoshi’s corpse. He pulled the body from you and lugged it over his broad shoulder.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t think you would get so scared. Just to let you know, I’m immortal so I can’t die,” he explained.

You ignored him and continued walking. _He has a point. I didn’t think I would react that way, either. I didn’t even have a reaction when I killed my own mother. I’m surprised I wasn’t leaping in joy when he “killed” himself._

“Can you please talk to me? I really hate it when you do that zone-out shit, I can never tell how you’re feeling,” he pleaded. It was the first time Hidan pleaded for anything.

“When did you ever care about how I felt? All you do is make fun of me or embarrass me in front of everyone. I know I’m not as strong as you guys, but don’t always make me the brunt of the joke,” you blurted out. You didn’t mean to admit all of that, but you felt so _exhausted_ from dealing with Hidan.

Hidan didn’t respond immediately for once. He thought about what you said, which corroborated with what you said when you were drunk. It was rare for you to admit how you truly felt, so he tried to tread carefully, which was also something he has never done before. If it were anyone else, he would’ve made fun of them for being a sensitive baby.

“Do you actually hate me?” he asked.

“Well, shit. Since I already admitted how I felt, there’s no point hiding it anymore. Yeah, I do hate you.” You answered bluntly.

 _Ouch,_ Hidan thought. “Then is there anything to make you not hate me anymore?” he continued.

You decided to give a snide reply. “Stop being a douchebag is a great start.”

Hidan was notorious for being vulgar and didn’t care about who he offended, even Pain. This was a big demand that you requested, but he was willing to try and be nicer to you if it really meant that you will not hate him.

“I can’t say I’ll be successful, but I’m willing to try,” he mustered.

You gave him a side stare; he was probably being sarcastic. To your surprise, he did look quite earnest. “I’ll be the judge of that,” you muttered.

\---

You both delivered the body to the bounty collector. It was your first time inside the bounty office, since Kakuzu was the one who usually goes inside. It was _gross;_ it smelled gross and it looked gross. _How does Kakuzu deal with this place? Eugh!_

Although you desperately wanted to leave the office ASAP, you performed your due diligence and counted the money in the brief case to ensure 10 million ryo was inside. You didn’t want to get punished by Kakuzu for missing a dollar.

Once you completed counting, you and Hidan left the office and started to head back to the base.

You were still uncomfortable by the events that happened this evening, especially Hidan’s spooky ritual. But you were more so disturbed by Hidan’s willingness to change… Hence, you stayed in front of him while you travelled back, avoiding him as much as possible.

Hidan, on the other hand, was anxious about why you were avoiding him. Hidan was a confident man who never got anxious. However, you had the magical ability to make this man feel many emotions. He started to get frustrated by how much control you had over his emotions.

By the time you two returned to the base, there was a lot of awkward silence between the two of you. The two of you stopped in front of Kakuzu’s door and you knocked timidly. At an instant, the door swung open and Kakuzu saw the two of you stand awkwardly in front of his door.

“Pass me the briefcase,” Kakuzu commanded. You obediently handed it over to him. You were about to walk away, but Kakuzu ordered you to stay. “Don’t want you running off with any money, wait until I finish counting.”

You patiently waited for Kakuzu to finish counting the money, who was swiftly running his fingers through the wads of cash. When he was finished, he grunted in satisfaction. He took a few bills and handed it to you. You looked up at him in surprise.

“Just take it before I take it back. Don’t call me a cheapskate again,” he grumbled. You accepted the bills and bowed in gratitude.

“Hey, where’s mine, Kakuzu?! I was part of this fucking mission, too,” Hidan fussed.

“Don’t kid yourself, the only thing you care about is your silly religion anyway,” Kakuzu scoffed.

“Here, you’re part of the team, too.” You felt bad, so you gave half the bills to Hidan. Then you walked off to your own room. Hidan felt fuzzy from your warm gesture and started smiling like a goof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading, I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> As a side note, I created a side-fic for this chapter, more fluffy stuff! Please check it out! :D


	12. How to Get Closer to (y/n)-chan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobi and (y/n) share a "special" relationship. The rest of the Akatsuki are wondering why Tobi is so successful in befriending Reader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, work has been taking up a lot of my time :')  
> Please enjoy this silly chapter!

As you promised to Tobi, you and he spent a few hours a day practicing taijutsu together. Tobi was progressively getting better at taijutsu and he was even able to land a few punches and kicks on you. Thus, you sped up your attacks and even added attacks from different directions to spice things up.

Tobi was always grateful to you for your help and he really enjoyed sparring with you. After each sparring session, the two of you would lay down on the field and chat about senseless things. Usually, you would just listen to Tobi babble on and on about different topics, but you didn’t mind. You always thought of him as the younger brother you never had. Other than you, Tobi was often the target of bullying due to his “idiocy”. As such, you felt compelled to spend time with him when the two of you were at the base together.

Little did the two of you know, the other members of the Akatsuki were somewhat jealous of Tobi’s relationship with you. They struggled to understand how Tobi was able to get to close to you with so little effort. To the other members, you were rather cold, but with Tobi, you were _willing_ to hang out with him. In fact, they often saw you SMILING at Tobi.

The other members were unwilling to believe that _Tobi_ , an absolute idiot, has better chances with women than they do. Tobi was childish, annoying, and happy-go-lucky, the direct opposite of you, who was gloomy, quiet and reserved. The members were not willing to stoop down to Tobi’s level just to gain your affections. Instead, they were each thinking of asking Tobi what his secrets to success were. It was a bit damaging to each of their egos, but they were desperate to know what Tobi had that they didn’t.

When you and Tobi returned back into the base and you went back into your room, the other members hounded Tobi, shocking the poor masked fellow.

“Hey, Tobi! Come here, hmm!” Deidara grunted.

“Yes, Deidara-senpai? I’m a bit smelly right now from the sweat, but what do you need?” Tobi inquired.

“Shower later, idiot. I’ll just get to the damn point. How the fuck are you so close with (y/n)?!” Hidan demanded, basically shoving Tobi up to a wall.

“W-what do you mean? (y/n)-chan and I were besties from the start, we just naturally clicked together~” Tobi explained.

“No, idiot. Stop wasting our time and tell us what tactics you are using on that woman,” Sasori snapped. Sasori was desperate to lure you again to turn you into a puppet (secretly).

“T-tactics? You all got it wrong~ I’m not using any tactics; I’m just being good ol’ me!” Tobi stammered.

“Could it be that the squirt has a fetish for stupidity? I think that could be the only way to explain this,” Kisame contributed.

“You could be right. She doesn’t seem to be like other women who spend frivolously,” Kakuzu added. To be honest, Kakuzu doesn’t even know why he’s a part of this discussion. His only love in life was money.

“Now that I’ve answered, your questions, may I go take a bath now??” Tobi pleaded.

“NO! WE AREN’T LETTING YOU GO UNTIL YOU TELL US!” Hidan shouted.

\---

After your sparring session with Tobi, you returned to your room to take a rest. Tobi’s was getting better, which required greater physical exertion on your side. However, you didn’t mind. You liked sparring and it made you happy to see Tobi’s progression under your tutelage.

While you were gathering items for a shower, you heard a loud shout from the living room. The shout sounded threatening; did someone intrude the base? Curious, you opened your room door and walked out to the end of the hall.

In the living room, you saw the Akatsuki members, sans Itachi, surrounding Tobi, who was shoved up against the wall. You gasped and quickly ran to where they stood, shoving members out of the way to get to Tobi.

Ignoring the presence of the other members, you looked up to the masked man, grabbing his gloved hand. “Are you okay, Tobi? Were they hurting you?” you asked worriedly. This scene reminded you of your childhood when you were surrounded by the village kids and getting dirt kicked into your face. Your sisterly instincts kicked in to protect Tobi.

The other members were bewildered. You straight up ignored the presence of the other members, despite their menacing demeanor, and only tended to Tobi.

“I’m okay, (y/n)-chan~ Don’t worry! I’m a big boy who can fend for himself!” Tobi declared.

You smiled at him. You turned around and faced the group of tall, menacing men and gave them dirty stares. You pulled Tobi out from the crowd and quietly told him if anyone were bullying him, you would beat their asses for him.

The other members were exasperated from what just happened; was the only way to be on your good side to be weak and stupid?!

“Yep, my theory stands correct. The squirt probably likes weak men,” Kisame confirmed, nodding his head in confidence.

“I will fucking murder Tobi… Something tells me he’s acting stupid to get closer to (y/n)!” Hidan snarled.

“You really think Tobi’s that smart? Tobi’s always been an idiot even before (y/n) joined, you dumbass, un,” Deidara replied.

However, they were determined to figure out the secret of getting closer to (y/n).

\---

It was the next morning and you exited your room, preparing to head out to town to run some errands.

As you were emerging from the hallway, Deidara, who happened to be in the common area, saw you coming. He quickly devised a plan to try to gain your sympathy.

Taking a few steps, he intentionally tripped himself, causing him to fall down in front of you.

You blinked, confused as to what just happened.

“Oww, I think I hurt myself, hmm…” Deidara groaned.

“Uhmm… Are you okay?” you asked. You were wondering how a grown man like him could trip on flat floor.

“No… Can you, uhm, help me up, hmm?” he asked.

You knelt down and put his arm around your shoulders, causing Deidara to blush. You helped him up and you walked him to the couch. You noticed that he had a slight limp on his _right_ foot, while his other foot seemed fine.

“Maybe we should check if you twisted your ankle,” you suggested. You sat down on the couch and patted your thighs. “Put your injured foot here.”

Deidara blushed a deeper red. He complied with your request and put his _left_ foot onto your thighs.

You stared at his _left_ foot, of which had black nail polish on his toenails. You pressed your mouth into a thin line.

“Looks like you’re severely injured, Deidara…” you commented. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you out,” you continued.

 _Huh, looks like she fell for it, hmm! Maybe she does have a soft spot for weak people,_ Deidara internally thought.

“Ice helps with de-swelling,” you explained. You grabbed his foot aggressively, which caused Deidara to yelp. Then, the next thing you did was encase his entire foot into a cube of ice. Deidara looked at you with his jaw dropped.

You pushed his frozen foot off your thighs and stood up from the couch. “Make sure you defrost it within an hour, or you might lose your foot from frostbite,” you said icily. You walked out the front door of the base.

“W-wait, newbie, come back! Defrost this before you go! I’m sorry for lying, hmm!!!” Deidara desperately called, but you were already storming off to town.

\---

You returned to the base after you finished running your errands. Kisame was sitting in the common area. Alike Deidara, had devised a plan to test his theory. However, it was obvious that he would not be able to pull off as being physically weak. Instead, he will try to appeal to your sympathy by being sensitive.

Upon your entrance, Kisame called you over. “Hey squirt! Do you have a minute?”

You gave him a puzzled look. You walked over (warily) to where he was sitting and said, “sure, what’s up?”

“Look, I was wondering if I could confide to you about something…” he said hesitantly.

You silently sat down next to him, gesturing that you were willing to listen.

“You see, it’s awkward as a guy to get all sensitive over matters like this and I don’t feel comfortable telling the other guys since they’re all blabbermouths…,” he continued.

“So, what happened?” you asked, curious to know what could have possibly made Kisame upset.

“Well, the other day, I got into an argument with someone at the base and they decided to take a jab at my blue skin. It kinda hurt, y’know?” he confessed. To be honest, Kisame didn’t care what other people thought about him or his appearance at all.

Upon hearing Kisame’s confession, you were surprised; you didn’t think the big, strong Kisame was the type of guy to get flustered over his appearance. You didn’t know what to say. Sure, you were shocked by his appearance upon initial meeting, but it didn’t warrant someone to bully him for it.

“I, uh, I’m sorry to hear that. Have you talked to that person to tell them how you felt after they said that?” you asked.

“No, I didn’t want them to think I’m a sensitive guy… Didn’t want them to know that I was bothered by their comment, but I guess it hurt me more than it should,” he continued.

You nodded. “I don’t mean to pry but who made rude remarks to you?” you asked. You were going to talk to whoever was being rude to your comrade.

Kisame didn’t think too far. He didn’t think of a scapegoat for his plan. Slightly panicking, he randomly blurted out a name. “It was Itachi.”

You gave him a skeptical stare. _Itachi? He would never do that. He’s the most respectful member in this organization._ “I see… I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll talk to him about being careful with his words in the future, how about that?” you suggested.

Kisame had a slight panic. Although he was touched that you would stand up for him, he didn’t want to be exposed for lying. “You know what squirt – It’s fine! I’ll deal with it like a man, thanks for hearing me out!” he said hastily.

 _He’s acting very suspicious… I’m going to get to the bottom of this._ “It’s okay, I won’t expose you. I’ll just say I overheard the conversation,” you told him. Kisame watched you stand up and walk towards Itachi’s room.

You knocked on Itachi’s door lightly. A short moment later, the raven-haired male opened the door, surprised to see you there. You blushed at the sight of him. _Aw shit, he’s so hot._

“Hello, (y/n)-san. Do you need me?” he asked inquisitively.

“H-hi, Itachi-san. I wanted to speak to you about something,” you said. Staring at him made your belly have butterflies.

“Sure, please go on ahead.” He said.

“Well, I overheard you and Kisame arguing the other day and I heard you say something rude about Kisame’s appearance. It’s not very nice and I hope that you wouldn’t say those things again in the future,” you lied.

Itachi was visibly confused. He didn’t know what argument you were talking about. In fact, he seldom got into arguments with the other Akatsuki members, let alone his own partner. “I’m sorry, (y/n)-san. I think you have mistakened. No such argument has occurred,” he replied. He sounded very sincere and truthful.

 _AHA! I knew something was suspicious._ “I must’ve made a mistake. I’m sorry for taking your time,” you replied, smiling sweetly.

Itachi closed the door. He silently wondered if this had anything to do with what happened this morning with Deidara’s frozen foot, of which he helped defrost.

You walked back to Kisame and glared at him. “Care to explain?” you asked curiously.

Kisame looked away sheepishly. “I was uhh, just testing your interrogation skills, squirt. Comes in handy,” he weakly explained.

You let out a sigh and left to your own room, puzzled by the day’s strange events.

\---

Hidan spent the day brainstorming ways to woo you. He heard about Deidara and Kisame’s failed attempts, thus he had to think extra hard. He knew he was already on your bad side; therefore, it’d be more difficult trying to gain your sympathy.

Instead, Hidan tried to think of reasons of why Tobi was so successful in befriending you. Well, the thing that stood out the most was Tobi’s friendly disposition, which was the complete opposite of Hidan’s menacing personality. Secondly, Tobi was always outwardly expressing his excitement when seeing you and even brought you flowers when you were injured. He wondered if he could pull similar tricks and achieve the same results.

He decided that it was worth the try. The first thing he did was run out the base to the backfield and pluck random flowers he saw. After, he went back inside to the base and knocked on your door loudly.

You were inside your room, cleaning and sharpening your weapons with tools you purchased from town. Hearing a sudden knock on your door, you stood up and went to open it.

You were surprised to see Hidan on the other side. _What is he up to now?_

“Yes?” you asked.

He shoved a bunch of flowers into your face.

“W…What is this for?” you asked, confused.

“Its for you, dumbass!” he replied, blushing.

“But why are you giving me dandelions? Were you clearing the garden of weeds or something?” you asked curiously. _I didn't think Hidan liked gardening..._

Hidan couldn’t differentiate between a flower and a weed. His face started growing redder than ever.

You stared at Hidan, who looked like a tomato. _Is he… Embarrassed?_ Being the empathetic person you are, you took the dandelions from him, to his surprise.

“Although they’re weeds, they quite pretty, too,” you told him, staring at the yellow plant. “What’s the occasion?”

“I… Well… I thought girls liked flowers or something, y’know…” he said shyly.

You were dumbfounded. You didn’t think a vulgar and impulsive man like Hidan would do something like this. In fact, his shyness was a bit off putting, but it was better than how he usually treated you. 

“… Thanks…,” you told him. You walked out the room past Hidan and walked to the kitchen. Hidan trailed after you like a lost puppy. You took a cup and poured water into it, then placed the dandelions inside the cup.

You turned to look at him. “Though next time, I recommend you getting actual flowers if you’re trying to impress a girl. Dandelions may be nice to me, but maybe not with other women,” you said. You figured you’re going to give him tips if he was trying to look for a girlfriend or something.

You walked back into your room and shut the door.

Hidan wore a goofy smile on his face _. Well, I only care about one person and she happens to like dandelions…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading! ^_^ Who do you guys ship with Reader-chan?
> 
> Also, please check out Chapter 2 of my sidefic, which is related to this chapter!


	13. Honest Moments with Itachi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader was dispatched on a mission with Itachi and they shared a few candid moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!  
> I am very sorry for the lack of updates, work has been super busy but I also had some writer's block for this chapter :(  
> Please enjoy! ^_^

It didn’t take long for you to be commissioned on another mission. This was a routine for you, now that you were part of the Akatsuki. Before your time in the organization, your daily routine was simple: do chores during the day, then perform during the night; a relatively risk-free lifestyle. However, in the Akatsuki, your “routine” was more haphazard; you weren’t on missions every single day; thus, your assignments were somewhat randomly timed. In addition to that, there was always a risk that you would lose your life during your assignments. _Oh, do I miss my old life…_ You thought to yourself.

While you were receiving details about the mission from Konan, you also learned that you would be partnered with Itachi this time. Your face instantly heated up from the mention of his name. This was going to be the first ever mission you would have with Itachi. Not to mention, the best part of it was that you would get to spend time _alone_ with him. Although you remained straight-faced, you were squealing with joy internally. _Oh Kami… I can’t believe I’m actually excited for a mission this time!_

After receiving the details from Konan, you went back into your room to pack ninja tools and other essential items into scrolls. It was going to be a multiday mission, therefore you had to pack more than usual. Once you finished packing, you walked out of your room and headed to the front door. It was no surprise that Itachi was already standing there, waiting for you. You couldn’t help but to blush at the sight of the handsome ninja. _Ugh, I hope my crush isn’t too obvious to him… This is so embarrassing…_

You bowed your head slightly to greet your teammate. He returned the gesture.

“Ready to go, (y/n)-san?” he asked.

You nodded in response. The two of you left the base and leapt into the forest.

\---

Itachi and you were both quiet types, therefore it was no surprise that the two of you travelled in silence. Although you and Itachi seldom interacted, you felt comfortable around him. Perhaps it was because you and he were somewhat similar; he minded his own business, and you could tell he was quite reserved. Unlike your other comrades, Itachi didn’t purposely pick fights with others or have seemingly sadistic tendencies. You wondered why he joined the Akatsuki; did he also believe in obtaining peace through violent means?

You were reminded of your conversation with Pain and your body instantly tensed up due to discomfort. Itachi, who was very perceptive, took notice of your sudden tenseness.

“(y/n)-san, are you alright?” he asked.

You were taken by surprise by his question. You didn’t think he would notice your shift in demeanor. You attempted to brush it off. “I-It’s nothing,” you replied quietly.

Itachi glanced at you. “It is alright if you wanted to say something. It is better than keeping it to yourself,” he assured you.

You gave him a small smile. “But I find that somewhat ironic, Itachi-san, you don’t practice what you preach. I think you are similar to me; you don’t really share your thoughts either.”

He stared straight ahead, giving no reply.

However, your curiosity took the best of you. “Itachi-san, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you join the Akatsuki?”

Itachi did not immediately answer your question and appeared to be contemplating how he should respond to your question. Certainly, it was a loaded question to be asked, especially to Itachi, who led a very secretive life.

“(y/n)-san, by now, I reckon that you are aware the Akatsuki is made of criminal ninjas from various hidden villages?” he asked.

You scratched your head awkwardly. This information was new to you. Your ignorance was no surprise since you didn’t bother to take the time to know your teammates on a personal level. You kept to yourself most of the time and you weren’t the type that pried for information.

“To be frank, no, I wasn’t aware of that. I mean, I guess that makes sense since I was ‘recruited’ because I was in the bingo book. Uhm, I’m just wondering… What kind of crimes did the other members commit?” you asked. You felt weird for asking such a question, but the can of worms was opened anyway.

Itachi didn’t think it was in his position to share with you what the heinous crimes the other Akatsuki members had committed; he felt that it was best that they told you themselves.

“Well, I am not comfortable speaking on behalf of the others, I hope you understand, (y/n)-san,” he explained. “But as criminals, we all looked for a place of belonging. The Akatsuki offered that for us,” he continued.

 _Fair enough. He’s a good guy for not wanting to talk behind others’ backs._ Being somewhat bold, you directed the question at him instead. “Well… What crime did you do? Of course, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” you asked quietly. Obviously, no one would want to air their dirty laundry, especially a secretive guy like Itachi.

He continued to walk silently. You suddenly regretted asking him the question; it was no doubt a sensitive topic.

“Sorry, that was out of line of me. I shouldn’t have asked,” you quickly apologized, looking away sheepishly. _I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings…_

“You don’t need to apologize, (y/n)-san. It is not one of my proudest moments to speak about. To put it plainly, I betrayed my own clan and village,” he revealed.

You didn’t know how to respond. After a moment of awkward silence, you spoke. “I understand that must’ve been very difficult for you,” you offered. “How did you… Betray your village?” you added.

“I killed my entire clan.” He answered shortly in his deep voice.

You felt a shudder run down your body. You could not imagine the calm and collected Itachi as a killer.

“I’m sorry I brought that up,” you whispered. You felt terrible for prying. _Ugh, what has gotten into me? I’m usually not this invested in other people’s business… It is probably not a good idea to ask why he did it…_

“Again, you don’t need to apologize, (y/n)-san. As teammates, it is only normal to learn more about each other,” he reassured you.

You felt compelled to tell him about yourself as well. Your past actions had always tormented you; you knew that your actions were unforgiveable. You never told anyone because you feared judgment and punishment, but you felt oddly comfortable telling Itachi. “I guess I could tell you what I did to help me land a spot in the Akatsuki,” you said.

“You have no obligation to do so,” he answered. Additionally, you have already drunkenly admitted your criminal past to Itachi, and he knew of the psychological impact it had on you.

“I’ve never told anyone this, and well, it’s not really something that I would openly share. I killed a couple of people in my hometown, including my own parents,” you murmured.

He didn’t respond to your confession. You took his silence as a cue to continue. “I was born as a by-product of an extramarital affair. My ‘father’ abused my mother and I witnessed all of his terrible actions during my youth. After learning ninjutsu skills and honing my kekkei genkai, I decided to seek revenge on my father by killing him and his family. Then, I killed my mother because I didn’t want her to suffer the consequences of my actions. The last person I killed was a former childhood friend of mine, but that was mostly out of spite.” you lamented. “Hatred had consumed my heart and motivated me to commit such crimes. I do feel ashamed for my actions, hence why I tried to hide my identity for a long time,” you admitted.

Itachi was silent for a moment. You couldn’t read his expression as his ebony eyes were not indicative of any sort of emotion.

“I’m sorry you had to endure such pain, (y/n)-san. No one deserves to go through such experiences,” he spoke. “I am not here to judge you on your actions, nor to tell you what was right or wrong. Because of your past traumatic experiences, others may perceive you as cold and aloof, however, I can tell that you have a lot of kindness and love in your heart. Despite what had happened, I hope you can move forward in life and walk in the direction that you believe is the right path.”

After listening to Itachi’s response, you felt grateful. You were grateful that he was not judgmental and berate you for your actions. Secondly, after he has imparted such wisdom to you, you began to realize that you were redeemable, except you did not know what exactly the “right path” was to take. _Now I wonder if Pain’s ideology is the “right path” to take..._

“Thank you, Itachi-san,” you replied, giving him a smile. Itachi gave a small smile in return. _Kami, why is he so adorable when he smiles?!_

\---

After a long day of travelling and a night of resting, the two of you continued the journey to seek the wanted criminal the next day.

The night before, you and Itachi studied about the criminal the two of you were to capture. Based on the bingo book, the wanted individual’s name was Toshiro. Toshiro was wanted for smuggling illegal goods into villages. However, he was notorious for being hard to capture, hence, the Akatsuki were commissioned. Admittedly, you were a bit nervous about this mission since it appeared that Toshiro was a skilled shinobi, who was exceptionally skilled in evasion. You hoped that you would not be a burden to Itachi.

You were originally really excited to finally get a chance to work with Itachi, but you suddenly felt self-conscious… Itachi must be extremely strong if he was able to defeat his entire clan… Whereas you nearly gotten killed by Kisame during your one-on-one brawl.

_What if he never wants to work with me again? I better not screw up…_

\---

The two of you continued to travel in silence until you suddenly heard silent murmurs. You and Itachi both immediately halted and inconspicuously hid behind shrubbery to eavesdrop.

“You better not fucking screw up again. Last time you and your useless runt of a daughter nearly costed me 10 million ryo,” a man growled menacingly.

“Y-yes, Toshiro. W-we won’t let you down this time,” a woman replied, who’s voice was quivering.

You immediately shot a glance at Itachi, who was staring back at you. The two of you have found your target. 

You heard a loud slap, and you heard the woman cry out, presumably from pain. A child suddenly started crying, calling for their mother.

“Stop fucking crying and do your job right!” the man angrily shouted.

A familiar feeling kicked in and you instinctively jumped up from the shrubbery. Toshiro caught sight of you and immediately used the woman as a human shield. You noticed that the woman had bruises and cuts all over her arms.

“Who the fuck are you?” he yelled.

The child began to cry frantically. “SHUT UP! WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS FUCKING CRYING?” Toshiro kicked the child, who began whimper from fear.

“T-Toshiro… Please don’t h-hurt our d-daughter…” the woman said nervously.

“You fucking piece of scum,” you growled. You were about to attack when an arm grabbed you to hold you back. You looked back angrily at Itachi, who was staring at Toshiro with his ebony eyes.

“(y/n)-san, calm down. Listen to me. I will deal with Toshiro. Get the woman and child away once I say it’s okay,” he instructed.

You retracted your offensive stance and watched Itachi. You saw his eyes suddenly turn red, causing you to gasp.

Suddenly, Toshiro collapsed and grunted. _W-what’s happening? What did Itachi do?_

“Toshiro-san, you are now under my genjutsu. (y/n)-san, it is safe to go,” Itachi said calmly.

You nodded your head and walked towards the mother and child, who were sitting next to a writhing Toshiro. The mother was looking at you fearfully while desperately hugging onto her child.

“There is no need to fear, I am here to help you,” you said gently, greatly differing from your behaviour a few minutes ago.

“Wh-what are you going to do with us?” the woman stammered.

“Please, trust us, I promise you. We aren’t here to hurt you. You and your daughter are injured, at least let me tend your wounds,” you pleaded earnestly.

Perhaps sensing your genuineness, the woman gave a slight nod and followed you. You guided them away from Itachi and Toshiro. You didn’t know what kind of genjutsu Itachi used on Toshiro, but it certainly wasn’t pleasant for the eyes… Especially for a child.

Sitting the mother and daughter down, you dug into your pockets for the first aid scroll. The mother and daughter watched you curiously as you summoned ointment and bandages from the scroll.

“H-how did you do that, miss?” the little girl inquired curiously.

You looked over to the wide-eyed girl. She was still shaking from fear, but she took interest in your summoning abilities.

You gave her a small smile. “It’s a fuinjutsu technique I learned from my mother,” you responded. Taking her mother’s arm, you gently applied ointment to the cuts and wrapped a bandage over the wounds. She thanked you quietly. Then, you turned to the little girl. “Did you get hurt as well?”

“No, I am okay. Thank you for tending my mommy’s wounds,” the little girl said. _She’s such a strong little girl…_

You looked over to the mother, who was looking down. You decided to inquire her, but before doing so, you wanted to distract the little girl.

“Do you want to help me organize my first aid kit? If you do a good job, I will show you something cooler later,” you grinned.

The little girl nodded enthusiastically and began to organize your supplies carefully.

You turned to the mother and asked in a hushed voice, “Ma’am, is he using you and your daughter as a mule?”

The woman looked at you hesitantly and gave a slight nod.

 _That bastard!_ You thought. You clenched your fist and teeth. You turned your head to look at the situation with Itachi and Toshiro.

You saw that Itachi was merely standing while Toshiro continued to scream and writhe on the ground. _What kind of genjutsu did Itachi put him under?! It must be extremely powerful._

“Itachi-san,” you called. Itachi turned his head to look in your direction. “What should we do next?” you asked.

“We will turn him in to the village authorities and we shall bring the mother and child to safety,” he said. You nodded your head. Itachi went over to pick up the writhing Toshiro and slung him over his shoulder.

You looked over to the little girl, who proudly pointed at the supplies she organized. You smiled and ruffled her hair. “Thank you so much for your help!”. You sealed your tools back into the scroll.

“Remember I said I’ll show you something cooler?” you mentioned. The young girl nodded fervently.

You bit your thumb and smeared the blood onto the palm of your other hand. You then formed the hand signs: boar, dog, bird, monkey, and ram, and placed your hand onto the ground. At an instant, two giant arctic wolves appeared.

The little girl gasped in surprise. "Wow!!! You magically summoned two giant dogs!" she exclaimed. 

You lifted the young girl and placed her onto the back of one of the wolves. You beckoned the woman over and helped her up as well.

“Itachi-san, you can place Toshiro onto the other wolf. Let’s get going,” you said.

Itachi nodded and placed Toshiro onto the back of the wolf. The two of you walked behind the wolves.

While you were walking, you were looking down and fidgeting with your cloak. Looking at the mother and child reminded you of your tragic past. You felt like crying.

Itachi took note of your fidgety behaviour. “(y/n)-san, are you alright?” he asked carefully.

 _Don’t cry (y/n)… Don’t cry… You’re a kunoichi. Don’t try to let these things get to you._ Controlling your emotions, you looked up at Itachi and nodded. “Yes, I’m alright. The mother and child don’t deserve any of this… He was using them as mules, who even does that?”. Although you tried to keep calm, you were getting slightly agitated by the end of your explanation. “Honestly, I would’ve finished him off,” you added on after.

Itachi remained silent. He understood where your frustration stemmed from, but as a pacifist, he did not condone using violence. Hence, Itachi casted a powerful genjutsu on Toshiro rather than killing him cold.

The entourage arrived to the nearby village shortly. You helped the mother and daughter off the wolves, and you unsummoned them. Itachi carried Toshiro over his shoulder and the four of you walked to the authority’s office in the village.

The four of you entered the authority’s office and you noted that the mother was shaking. You walked over and squeezed her shoulders.

“Ma’am, don’t worry. You and your daughter will be safe. Please tell them the truth about everything,” you pleaded.

She took a deep breath and nodded. You understood it would take a lot of courage to do so, but she was a victim of Toshiro. You watched the woman confess to the authorities that Toshiro used her and their daughter to smuggle illegal goods to various villages, hence why he was never caught. She also confessed the abuse she and her daughter had to endure while living with Toshiro. While listening to her confession, you felt your gut wrench. There were too many similarities to your own story.

Once the authorities chained up Toshiro’s limbs, Itachi released the genjutsu, resulting in an extremely dazed and confused Toshiro. The authorities ordered the woman to surrender any illegal goods she had on hand, of which she complied. Once everything was completed, the authorities dragged away a screaming Toshiro and the four of you were free to leave.

Once outside of the authority’s office, you dug into your pocket. Taking out a scroll, you unsealed a large quantity of money and handed it to the woman. “Please take this. I know it will be extremely difficult to start afresh, so you will need this. I don’t have much else to offer, but it is the least I could do,” you said.

The woman was surprised by your generosity. Giving you a teary-eyed stare, she gratefully accepted your generous gift. "Thank you so much for your help today... I was so afraid of leaving Toshiro, but I want my daughter to grow up in a safe and healthy environment," she sobbed. You patted her back in an attempt to comfort her; to let her know that everything will be okay starting from today.

The little girl hugged your leg.

“Thank you for helping us, miss! I hope we can be friends forever!” she cried.

You knelt down to be at eye-level with the young girl and held her cheek. “Unfortunately, I must leave now. But please be a good girl to your mommy, okay? Grow up strong and make sure you protect her if anything bad happens,” you requested.

“Of course! I want to be just like you, miss! So beautiful, strong and kind. Please don’t ever forget me! My name is Hiroki, by the way!” Hiroki exclaimed.

You gave Hiroki a big smile. Standing up, you waved good-bye to Hiroki and her mother. You and Itachi left the village shortly after.

\---

You felt an immense amount of joy after helping Hiroki and her mother. Looking at the mother’s grateful eyes and the smiling Hiroki, you felt warm and fuzzy. You could not help but to grin outwardly. _It felt so wonderful to help them… I really hope they can move forward and live a better life than I did. Perhaps this is the path I should walk... Helping others who are experiencing the same pain I did._

Itachi noticed your bright demeanor. “(y/n)-san, what you did back there was very noble of you. I could tell that Hiroki-chan and her mother were very grateful for your generosity,” he mentioned.

You looked at Itachi and gave him a big smile. “Originally, I was really upset about Toshiro. I thought ending his life would’ve made me really happy. However, being able to help Hiroki and her mother brought even greater joy to me.”

Itachi gave you a friendly smile. “I’m happy for you, (y/n)-san. You are indeed a very kind and empathetic person,” he said.

 _Itachi complimented me… AH!!!_ _*insert fangirl noises*_

“By the way, your genjutsu must’ve been very powerful. Toshiro was screaming and writhing the whole time! You are really amazing,” you gushed. You blushed from being overly enthusiastic, but you were in too good of a mood. “By the way, I noticed your eyes turned red when you were casting a genjutsu on Toshiro. Why is that?”

“My clan, the Uchiha clan, possesses the kekkei genkai called the Sharingan, which allows us to use dojutsu,” he briefly explained. He wasn’t surprised you weren’t familiar with the Sharingan since you weren’t formally trained in the shinobi world.

“I see. That’s really cool, Itachi-san,” you lauded. Your constant praising made the humble Itachi slightly flustered. Although Itachi was often praised for his abilities as a shinobi, it felt different receiving it from the usually reserved (y/n).

“(y/n)-san… You can drop the honorifics if you want to. You can simply call me Itachi,” he murmured.

You looked at him with wide eyes and blushed an even deeper crimson. “R-really? Then y-you can just call me (y/n)!”

_Does this mean I am getting closer with Itachi?! The day just keeps getting better, doesn’t it!_

The two of you walked back to the base, making small talk on the way. Along the way, you couldn’t help making small peeks at your handsome partner and internally fangirled every time. You also secretly hoped he didn’t notice your creepiness (however, Itachi was well aware of your shy glances each time, making himself a little bit flustered as well).

_To be continued~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone! I really hope you enjoyed this.  
> What did you think?  
> To be honest, this is probably not my proudest chapter since it felt a bit rushed :(


	14. A Day with Kakuzu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader spends a day with Kakuzu, oh what fun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!!! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter with our favourite grumpy cheapskate, Kakuzu!!! :D Enjoy!

After your multi-day mission with Itachi, you were given a few days off to rest. _Finally, a day without a mission!_

Feeling a hungry, you were planning to head out to the nearby village to purchase some delicious food. However, because you gave away a substantial amount of your money to Hiroki and her mother, you weren’t left with much cash. _Perhaps it’s probably better to start saving money instead of wasting it on food…_

Feeling miserable, you stepped outside of your room. You figured that there was probably food in the kitchen you could eat. You trudged your way into the kitchen and opened the cabinets, but to your dismay, you were met with empty shelves. It was no surprise since many of the members have been on missions for the past few days, hence the food supply was not replenished.

_Just my luck! How could there be NO FOOD at the base?! Do I need to resort to the disgusting food pills I have?_

Letting out a heavy sigh, you dragged yourself to the in the common area and faceplanted into the couch. Your stomach ripped a large growl and you sobbed internally.

_Should I starve? Should I go foraging in the forest? Ugh…_

You were so hungry you didn’t realize you were groaning out loud.

\---

Walking into the common area, Kakuzu noticed you, flopped down onto the couch, groaning loudly. Your teammate was quite confused by your current state. Kakuzu was a man of many experiences, having lived through several decades. However, it was a first for him to see someone in such a predicament.

Sensing someone’s presence, you turned lifted your head and looked back. You immediately sat up when you saw a pair of green and red eyes glaring at you.

“H-Hi Kakuzu. How do you do?” you stammered.

“What are you doing?” he interrogated.

“N-nothing – “you started to say, except you were interrupted by a loud growl escaping your tummy. You immediately wrapped your arms around your tummy and flushed from immense embarrassment.

Kakuzu continued to stare at you, however he was slightly bewildered by the loud growl from your stomach.

“Why aren’t you eating?” he questioned.

“U-uhm, I noticed that there wasn’t any food at the base…” you replied sheepishly.

“I didn’t bother buying any food since no one was at the base. Why don’t you just go buy food?” he said.

You scratched your head awkwardly. You knew that Kakuzu would not be impressed if you told him you gave away most of your cash to a stranger. But you might as well be honest with your comrade.

“Y-you see… I uh… Gave away my money to help someone…” you admitted.

Kakuzu looked as if he were about to strangle you. He was utterly disgusted. “Are you an idiot? Why would you give away perfectly good money to someone? If you hate money that much, just give it to me!” he cursed.

You shrunk yourself, frightened by your angered comrade, who looked as though he will murder you. _Why is he so angry? It’s not like I gave away his money… I should be able to do whatever I want with it… But I really don’t want to die, so maybe I should say sorry or something since he seems so offended by my action…_

“I-I’m sorry… I won’t ever do it again,” you apologized as earnestly as you could. As if on cue, your stomach decided to garner as much attention as it could by growling loudly.

Kakuzu facepalmed himself. At this point, he couldn’t help to feel bad for you. One, for being a moron and giving away your money, and two, for starving yourself to death because of your stupidity.

“Let’s go to the market and buy some groceries,” he grumbled.

You widened your eyes in surprise. _Wow, did he really just say that?! I must be dreaming!_

\---

You and Kakuzu walked to the nearby village and entered the market.

Shopping with Kakuzu was a killjoy. Without asking you what you wanted to eat, Kakuzu was making all the decisions himself. With everything he bought, he measured it down to the grain if he could. Whenever possible, he haggled with the vendors, which worked most of the time due to his intimidating demeanor. You didn’t dare to make requests of what to buy since you were also deathly afraid of your teammate. As such, you walked away and browsed other items while he shopped.

Your eyes sparkled when you saw the variety of fruits and vegetables. You smelled a bunch of different aromas, from freshly baked bread to yakisoba. Walking through the market reminded you of your younger days when you went shopping with your mother. Your mother always asked you what you wanted to eat and would purchase the ingredients used to prepare your favourite meals. Sometimes, your mother would even buy street snacks from vendors if you were being good. You smiled from those fond memories.

Mindlessly wandering, you found yourself in front of store front that sold candied fruit (tanghulu). Your mother would often treat you to candied fruits whenever the two of you visited the market together. However, it has been years since you’ve had it. Entranced by the glistening candy, you started daydreaming about your childhood, reminiscing of the past.

\---

Kakuzu finished shopping for the items needed. Being a very exact man, he bought the exact amount of rice, vegetables and fish required. He didn’t even bother to spend any money on fruits; to him, fruits were just the sweet versions of vegetables. Carrying his groceries, he began to look for you. He was frustrated that you wandered off on your own.

After walking down a few storefronts, he found you at the candied fruit vendor. He walked up to you and was about to chastise you for going off on your own, but noticed you were staring at the candies so intensely to the point that you didn’t even realize he was beside you.

Though a cold man, Kakuzu’s five hearts softened at your puppy-eyed stare at the candied fruits. He never saw someone stare so longingly at something before (aside from himself staring at money), he figured that the candy held some sort of sentimental value to you.

… Doing something extremely uncharacteristic, Kakuzu asked the vendor how much a stick of candy costed. The vendor replied that it costed 10 ryo, causing Kakuzu to grunt. _What kind of candy costs 10 ryo?! Ridiculous!_

“How about 5 ryo?” Kakuzu haggled.

“At least 7 ryo,” the vendor shot back.

“6 ryo. That’s final. Or you’ll regret it.” Kakuzu said with a threatening tone.

The vendor was speechless and tsked. “Fine, fine, fine. 6 ryo, take it or leave it,” the vendor muttered.

The moment the money left Kakuzu’s hand, his hearts broke a little. _Why am I doing this… I would never waste money on something trivial like candy!_

With the stick of candy in hand, Kakuzu handed the candy to you, causing you to awake from your trance. You looked up to your tall teammate, shocked.

“Is this for me??” you asked.

“Who else would it be for? Do I look like I would buy candy for myself?” Kakuzu said sarcastically. _Maybe… Looks can be deceiving…_ you thought to yourself.

Breaking into a wide smile, you gratefully took the candy from him. “Thank you so much! I loved these as a child!” you exclaimed, barely able to contain your joy.

Kakuzu was surprised by how much joy a single stick of candy brought you. From the day he found you till now; he had never seen such happiness from you before. It was mystical, but a bit of your joy rubbed off onto Kakuzu, who was feeling slightly confused and flustered. _I should not go grocery shopping with her anymore… She’s dangerous to the wallet._

Staring at the beautiful candy, you decided that it was only nice to offer some to your teammate. “Would you like some, Kakuzu? It’s really delicious!”

“No, I don’t like sweets. In fact, I despise sweets,” he mumbled. _What a grumpy guy…_ you thought.

“Oh, okay. Well, I guess I’ll help myself. Don’t mind if I do…” you replied playfully.

As you were about to take a bite from your candy, you noticed a dishevelled child sitting by himself on the street. You were a bit disheartened by seeing his current state, and from what it looked like, he likely hadn’t eaten for a few days.

Straying away from Kakuzu, who was wondering what you were up to, you walked towards the boy and crouched down to his level.

“Hey, are you alright? Where are your parents?” you asked, concerned.

The boy was surprised by your presence. People usually walked past time and pretended as if he didn’t exist. He stared longingly at your candy.

“M-my parents are l-looking for food a-around town, s-so they told m-me to stay here and wait,” he shyly replied.

 _I’m guessing his family can’t afford food… Agh, I wish I could help him out, but I don’t have any money,_ you thought. Feeling sorry for him, you offered your candied fruits.

“I wish I could help you, but I don’t have any money right now. Here, take this. I haven’t eaten it yet,” you offered, handing the candy to him.

The boy was elated, giving you a big smile. “Th-thank you so much! I always wanted to try these, but my family could never afford it,” he responded excitedly.

You smiled back, feeling warm inside. You stood up and walked back to Kakuzu, who’s eye was twitching, after watching your interaction with the boy.

“You brat… I bought that for you with my own money and you handed it off to some kid?!” he barked, causing you to flinch.

“I-I just thought that he needed it more than me… Look how happy he is!” you gestured to the boy, who was happily munching on the candy.

Kakuzu was speechless. “You irritate me. Don’t expect me to buy you anything from now on,” he declared.

You shrugged. _As long as I can help someone, that’s all that matters._

\---

You and Kakuzu returned to the base. Kakuzu went to the kitchen and you trailed after him. As he was putting things away into the cupboard, you were peeking behind him, desperate to see what he bought, but he was too tall for you to be able to see anything.

Kakuzu noticed your nosiness and was irritated yet amused by your childishness.

“What are you doing? Get out of my way,” he grunted, swatting his hand at you.

“Uhmm… I was wondering if I could start cooking? It’s almost lunch time and I’m terribly hungry,” you asked.

Kakuzu glanced at you. “Do you even know how to cook? I don’t want you to waste these precious ingredients that I spent my money on,” he questioned.

“Of course I do… I lived on my own for quite a while. If I could say so myself, I think I’m a pretty good chef!” you proclaimed.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. Stepping aside, he gave you full access to the kitchen.

“I’ll let you know when I’m done cooking. You can go do your thing,” you instructed. It was your turn swatting your teammate away. Kakuzu complied and went back to his own room to count the money left over from the shopping trip.

You looked at the ingredients that Kakuzu had bought. He bought a bag of rice, spinach, some fish and eggs. Thankfully, he bought ingredients that were easy to work with, but he also bought the bare minimum to ensure the both of you won’t starve to death.

“Cheapass…” you muttered under your breath as you started to prepare the ingredients.

You were going to make a traditional Japanese lunch with grilled fish, spinach ohitashi, tamagoyaki, and steamed rice. When you were younger, you learned these recipes from your mother. As a child, you always watched your mother cook, but as you got older, your mother began to teach you how to cook. During the period you lived alone, you always made meals for yourself and it was a pastime you enjoyed.

You were finished cooking and you set the table for two. You poured two cups of tea to accompany the meal. You walked to Kakuzu’s door and knocked politely.

Kakuzu opened the door and his nose was met with a strong fragrance of delicious food. He was pleasantly surprised by the scent, he wondered if the taste would be as good as how it smelled.

The two of you sat down at the table.

“Itadakimasu!” you said excitedly. Kakuzu didn’t bother. _I only thank money for this meal._

Kakuzu pulled down his face covering. Before digging into your own food, you were waiting to see Kakuzu’s reaction to his first bite of your cooking.

You watched Kakuzu picked up some grilled fish and placed it in his mouth. His red and green eyes widened.

“So? How is it?!” you asked.

Kakuzu was astonished. He didn’t expect you to cook well, but it was delicious. However, he didn’t want to compliment you. “Not bad,” he replied, while picking up an egg roll.

You could tell he liked it by his reaction. Feeling cheeky, you moved the fish closer to yourself. “Well… If it’s only ‘not bad’, then I’ll have more to myself then,” you teased. “I don’t want to subject your poor taste buds to my mediocre cooking,” you continued.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at you. “Fine, it tastes good. Happy?” he admitted.

“I’m just jesting. Have more food! I like it when people eat my food!” you chimed, pushing the fish back to Kakuzu.

The two of you continued to eat in silence. Once you finished eating, you patted your belly in satisfaction. 

“Thank you for the meal!” you said to your teammate. 

“Hm. Don’t waste your money on crap in the future,” he replied.

“No promises,” you said jokily, smiling at your brooding teammate. You stood up and started cleaning up the dishes, bringing it to the kitchen to wash.

Kakuzu watched you walk away. Although you irritated him with your irresponsible spending, he realized you were very selfless and caring, which were qualities that he personally lacked. Though he had five hearts, none of them were as big as yours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!! What did you think? XD Kakuzu was probably a bit OOC this chapter, so I apologize for that! :P


	15. A Day at the Onsen (Hot Spring)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the Akatsuki returned to the base from their missions and decided to visit a hot spring to unwind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Happy Holidays! Here is another light-hearted chapter!

It was late into the morning and you were sleeping soundly in your room. You woke with a start when you heard boisterous noises rumbling through the house. You recognized the sound pollution as your rambunctious teammates, who have just returned from their missions.

Using your pillow to cover your ears, you squeezed your eyes shut to try to fall back to sleep. However, your feeble attempts have failed as you heard someone knocking your door.

Grunting, you rose up from your futon and aggressively opened your door, only to be greeted by your artistic teammate, Deidara.

Deidara was surprised by your appearance as you were dressed in your pajamas and your eyes were barely open. He was flustered by how cute you looked.

“Oh… Uhh… Sorry, I didn’t know you were still sleeping, hmm…” he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

You yawned. “Nah, it’s fine. I should probably wake up. Did you just come back from your mission?” you asked groggily.

“Yeah! I got you some dango as I was passing the village and I wanted to ask if you wanted any, hmm,” he said. Your eyes flew open in delight.

“Oh I see, that’s very kind of you. Thank you, Deidara. I’m going to get changed and be out in a second,” you said, closing the door.

After changing into your regular outfit, you walked out to the hallway and heard your teammates chatting excitedly. You saw that pretty much all of your teammates were back from missions.

“Hey, it’s the betch! I haven’t seen you in a while. Didya miss me?” Hidan shouted.

Your eyes twitched and you pretended to gag, eliciting loud guffaws from your other teammates. Hidan huffed.

“(y/n)-chaaaaaan! I missed you so much!!~” Tobi exclaimed as he ran towards you with his arms open, only to be blocked by Deidara.

“Move it, Tobi. Here, (y/n). Eat these fresh, hmm!” Deidara said, shoving the dango into your hands. You gratefully took the sweet treat from him.

“Hey squirt, you wanna share some?” Kisame asked playfully.

“Oh, of course, help yourself,” you unwrapped the dango packaging and offered it to your giant teammate, causing Deidara to curse under his breath.

“This is why she’s my favourite,” Kisame said while taking a stick of dango.

“Then why’d you beat her to pulp?” Sasori asked sarcastically. Your face grew red from remembering your ass getting handed back to you.

Itachi cleared his throat as he saw that you looked unomfortable. “(y/n), may I also have a dango?” he asked politely. 

“Oh, of course, Itachi! Please help yourself as well!” you chirped, walking towards Itachi with the dangos. He took one and you smiled, blushing.

You began to munch on some dango, then Deidara came up to you.

“Oh, (y/n), there’s a natural hot spring near our base and we were planning to go today. Are you interested in joining us, hmmm?” Deidara asked.

Everybody looked at you expectantly, causing you to turn pink.

“Uhhm, it’s okay, thank you for the offer, though…” you replied. _A soak in the hot spring would be nice… But not with a bunch of dudes!_

“Oh, come on, don’t be shy. It will be fun, hmm!” Deidara appealed.

“Don’t worry, no one wants to look at you anyway!” Hidan cackled (but truthfully, he did).

You shot a glare at the silver-haired maniac and stuck your tongue out. He smirked back at you.

To be honest, you wanted to join your teammates to go to the hot spring since you hadn’t been to one in a long time. However, you were still shy about the idea of sharing a soak with your teammates… Naked…

You thought of an alternative to join the fun.

“I guess I will join… To soak my feet!” you suggested. The other members groaned in disappointment.

“Tobi won’t be joining today~ I will be staying back at the base. Have fun everyone~ Don’t be a pervert to (y/n)-chan~” Tobi chattered, skipping away to his room. Your face grew redder from Tobi’s comment.

“I think I will skip out as well. Enjoy the trip,” Itachi said. You felt a bit disappointed that your two favourite members of the Akatsuki were not joining the trip.

“Alright, we’ll head out soon. Let’s get our towels and then meet in 5 minutes, hmm,” Deidara instructed. The members dispersed to their own rooms, including yourself, to gather their belongings. You went to your room to change into a pair of shorts and a jinbei top. You wore a pair of sandals for convenience.

Reconvening at the front door, you saw your other teammates were ready to go. You noted that the members only wore yukatas and flung towels over their shoulders. Your entourage left the base shortly to head into the forest.

It didn’t take very long for the group to arrive at the spring. Like Deidara said, it was a natural spring. There was thick steam emerging from the pool of water and you could already feel the warmth. Surrounding the pool of water were stones; it was definitely a beautiful view. It wasn’t ginormous, but the pool of water could fit the entire group.

“Time to fucking unwind!” Hidan hollered excitedly.

The group put down their towels and removed their sandals. Then, everyone began to remove their yukata. You gasped and immediately turned around while covering your eyes with your hands. Your face was burning from embarrassment. _Kami! They could’ve at least warned me before stripping!_

The other members noticed your cowering figure and burst out laughing.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never seen naked guys before!” Kisame goaded.

You huffed whilst having your eyes covered. “No, I don’t want to get mentally scarred! At least warn me if you are going to take off your clothes in front of a lady!” you cried.

“I thought you’re a shinobi, how are you so easily flustered?” Sasori commented. You could hear the smirk in his voice. You ignored his comment but mentally imagined strangling your red-headed teammate.

You soon heard splashing noises, indicating that your comrades had entered the pool of water. You heard them let out relaxed sighs. Uncovering your eyes slowly, you looked back shyly and noted everyone was already in the pool.

You walked towards the hot spring. Once you reached the edge of the pool, you sat down slowly and dipped your feet into the hot water. _Oh, this feels very nice…_

You looked at your comrades, who all had their eyes closed to relax. Thankfully, you couldn’t see the lower half of their bodies, but you were able to see the top part of their torsos. From what you saw, they all had broad and muscular shoulders. It was no surprise they all had wonderful physiques given their occupation.

You saw that Kakuzu had stitches all over his body, as well as tattoos on his arms. You also observed that Deidara had a strange pattern on his chest, however you were unable to make out what it exactly was. It also appeared to be some sort of stitching. However, the most surprising body was Sasori's. It appeared that he had ball joints rather than shoulders. Where his heart was supposed to be was a cylinder-shaped device that had the kanji, "scorpion" on it. You were a bit shocked from the various body modifications you saw, causing you to be a bit mystified. You weren't used to seeing other people's bodies, let alone ones that were altered.

“If you’re gonna check us out, why don’t you just join us?” Hidan said while his eyes were still closed. You were confused. _How did he know I was looking at them?! What the f?_

“I-I was not checking you guys out… W-What are you saying…” you stammered.

The other guys laughed at how abashed you were.

“Your stuttering makes it painfully obvious that you’re guilty of doing so,” Sasori teased.

“Oh, come on, squirt. There’s no need to be shy. Join us, the hot spring is real relaxing,” Kisame encouraged.

“If you feel like joining us, the spot next to me is free, hmmm…” Deidara declared.

“I-it’s fine. I like soaking my feet,” you said, splashing around the water with your feet.

Suddenly, Hidan’s face lit up. He had a sly smile on his face. You were confused as to what he was up to, hence you began to put your guard up. _That bastard is definitely up to no good…_

You watched your silver-haired comrade waddle his way to Sasori. Hidan began to whisper into Sasori’s ear and the latter began to chuckle. You eyed the two suspiciously. _Okay they are definitely up to no good._

You decided to prepare yourself from whatever was to happen by leaving the hot spring. The moment you raised your feet from the water, you were pulled by an invisible force, causing you to scream in fear. What resulted was a loud splash and you were suddenly submerged into the hot water.

You immediately raised your head from the water, and you noticed your teammates were laughing at you. You, on the other hand, trembled in anger. Your clothes and hair were soaking wet and you didn’t bring a towel with you.

“You bastards!” you screamed hysterically at Hidan and Sasori.

“It was his idea,” Sasori shrugged, placing the blame on Hidan.

“Awww, don’t be such a baby! We just wanted you to relax,” Hidan snickered.

Fuming from his constant teasing, you aggressively waded your way to your smirking teammate. Raising your arm, you tried to throw a punch across his face, only to have his larger hand wrap around your fist, stopping your punch.

“Too slow!” Hidan taunted as you struggled to get your fist out of his grasp. You snarled at his dumb face.

“Oh, come on, give her a break! She already has it tough,” Kisame chuckled lightheartedly.

Hidan let go of your hand. Feeling defeated, you exited the hot spring with your sopping wet clothes and walked away. You felt hurt that your teammates would play such a mean prank to intentionally embarrass you, once again being the laughing stock of the group.

“Aw, look what you’ve done now! You made her angry, hmm!” Deidara said disappointedly.

“You’re always going too far with your jokes, you idiot,” Kakuzu scolded Hidan.

“I didn’t know she couldn’t take a joke! What’s a little water going to do to her!” Hidan said, attempting to defend himself.

“Even I thought that was a mean prank… You better think of a way to cheer her up later, hmmm…” Deidara suggested.

Hidan began to feel bad. He remembered that after your initial burst of anger, you looked really upset, as if you were about to cry. His intention was to play a light prank on you to get your attention, but the opposite had happened. _Ah shit, I screwed up again…_ Hidan thought to himself.

\---

While the other members were still soaking in the hot spring, you decided to walk back to the base alone. You were extremely uncomfortable with the wet clothes clinging to your body.

As you were walking, you noticed the yukatas and towels left behind by your comrades. Your eyes suddenly lit up; you were already plotting a petty revenge against your teammate.

You sneakily picked up Hidan’s belongings from the pile, distinguishing his items by the colour. Using his towel, you dried off your hair, then placing it around your neck. Taking his yukata, you wore it over your wet clothes like a jacket. You immediately ran off towards the base, suppressing the laughter that was about to escape. _Take that, asshole! Get a taste of your own medicine!_

\---

When you arrived back at the base, you immediately took a shower and changed into a dry set of clothing. You immediately felt a lot better.

After you were done, you decided to chill in the common area, where you found Itachi reading. Itachi noted your presence and raised his head from his book to greet you.

“Hi, (y/n), you’re back early from the hot spring. How was it?” he asked.

As if on cue, the door burst open with a loud BANG!

“(Y/N)!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET YOUR FUCKING ASS HERE RIGHT NOW!!!! I’M GOING TO SACRIFICE YOU TO JASHIN,” you heard Hidan growl angrily.

You instinctively ran to hide behind Itachi while suppressing your laughter by covering your mouth.

A very angry (and naked) Hidan ran into the common area while the other members were laughing until tears were leaking out of their eyes. You immediately turned your head away to prevent any cursed imagery getting imprinted into your brain.

“Oh Kami, put on some clothes! Talk about indecency!” you taunted.

“I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!” you heard angry footsteps heading your way. You watched Itachi remove his cloak and he threw it to Hidan, who immediately put it on.

“Woah! Calm down, buddy! It’s not like you wear a shirt on the regular anyway!” you continued to tease.

Hidan attempted to thrash at you with his arms, but Itachi held him back, creating a wall between you and Hidan.

Itachi was confused by the events that had happened at the hot spring but decided to remain silent to speculate.

“Man, (y/n), good one. Don’t worry, we didn’t let him use our towels either. He just had to walk home like this, hmm!” Deidara said. You shot him a thumbs up whilst grinning.

“I’ll get Sasori back next time for agreeing to Hidan’s stupid prank,” you warned.

Sasori tsk’d. “I’d like to see you try,” he challenged.

“Today was definitely a good day. These idiots always have antics up their sleeves,” Kisame commented, while chuckling.

“You better fucking lock your door tonight, bitch!” Hidan snapped, walking furiously away to his own room. He no longer felt obligated to make up to you after you sought your revenge.

You shrugged and smiled. _I guess revenge can be sweet sometimes, ha!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!! :P


	16. Monster of the Mist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader and Kisame go on a mission together, while learning more about each other's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> Happy New Year! ^_^  
> I apologize for the slow updates >_< My day job has been taking a lot of my time recently~  
> Also, thank you SO SO MUCH to everyone who left comments! I enjoyed reading every single one of them and I am super stoked you guys like the story so much!

It shouldn’t be a surprise that you’re once again on a mission. Your life essentially became a monotonous cycle of missions and downtime on repeat. You noticed that the number of missions had been ramping up, and sometimes, members were gone for weeks at a time. You often felt extremely fatigued from attending numerous missions, perhaps attributable to the fact that you were never trained as a ninja officially. You wondered if your teammates felt the same way you did, but it doesn’t seem so.

Your mission partner this time was Kisame.

Kisame grew to become very fond of your company. He initially perceived you to be very weak and timid, based on his first impression of you. However, it was quickly proven that you were a strong kunoichi with your own unique fighting style and ninjutsu. Physical prowess aside, he noted that you were actually quite the cheeky gal once you warmed up to everyone. Before, you would hide your emotions and thoughts to yourself, but you slowly opened up to everyone with how you felt, which he was appreciative of. He also found you to be extremely adorable whenever you got flustered or embarrassed… He loved watching your face turn into a ripened tomato. With all that said, it was safe to assume Kisame was glad to have you as his mission partner.

On the other hand, you were still deathly afraid of your teammate. He was still intimidating in every way: he was twice your size, 100 times stronger than you, and wielded a ginormous sword that was near sentient. Despite his sadistic tendencies, you eventually grew to become friendly with the giant, despite the rocky first impressions you both had on each other. You noted that he was also a playful and funny guy around his comrades. However, there was still a lot that you didn’t know about him except that he was from the same village as your mother. That sparked an idea in your head.

“Hey Kisame. You and my mother were both from Kirigakure. What was it like?” you asked curiously, looking up at your teammate.

Kisame peered back down at you. “Huh. Aren’t you lucky to know nothing about that damned place?” he replied.

_Was it that bad? Maybe that’s why my mom refrained from telling me much about her past…_

“No… My mother hasn’t told me much about it. All I know is that I descended from the Yuki Clan from Kirigakure, hence why I have the ice release kekkei genkai. Though, my mother did warn me not to tell anyone of my abilities,” you explained.

“I guess I can give you a bit of a history lesson, squirt. To put it shortly, the people of your clan were wiped out by Kiri… Your mother likely knew of what was happening and defected elsewhere to escape her own death,” he revealed.

You looked down at the ground, evidently upset from what you’ve just heard. _So that’s why my mom was adamant about hiding my abilities… She was trying to protect me._ You couldn’t even fathom the types of pain your mother had been through… From getting witch-hunted to getting abused… _Why is the world so unfair?_ Kisame took note of your sadness. He realized that you’ve come a long way from being the ice princess who hid her emotions to becoming more transparent with how you felt. Feeling sorry for you, he placed his large hand on your shoulder as he was not good with comforting words.

“I’m okay, don’t worry,” you told him reassuringly. “Well… While we’re on the topic. Why did you leave Kiri? It sounds like a shit place,” you said, attempting to make a joke out of the heavy topic. You didn’t want to be a Debbie downer and wanted to shift the mood.

He chuckled and sighed. “It’s a long story. I don’t want to bore you with my long history,” he joked back, smiling with his pointy teeth.

“I bet it’s not boring! I want to hear all about it!” your eyes were glimmering with curiosity. You wanted to know more about your teammate as well as the place where your mother was from.

Your enthusiasm made Kisame laugh and he thought it was adorable. Kisame rubbed his chin, thinking about where to even start with his story.

Kisame talked about his past role as a guard of the Cypher Division of Kirigakure, where he was assigned by Fuguki, a former Jounin of Kiri. Kisame was tasked with protecting the cypher division and the intel they carried. However, during one trip with the cypher division, he and the team were surrounded by Konoha nin, who were after the intel that they carried. Kisame looked at you to see if you were still listening.

You were indeed still listening. You wanted to know how he and the crew dealt with the Konoha shinobi. “What happened then?” you asked eagerly.

“I killed my own comrades in order to protect the intel,” Kisame replied darkly. You were taken aback; that wasn’t the outcome you expected.

“At that time, I felt like I had no other choice. Fuguki instructed that the intel must be protected no matter what, hence I did what I did. Only later did I find out Fuguki himself was selling intel to enemies,” Kisame continued.

You were rendered speechless… You felt appalled by Fuguki and you felt terrible for Kisame for what he had gone through.

“Learning this, I killed Fuguki. Fuguki was the former wielder of Samehada, but I took it for myself. Thus, I became one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, earning the title, ‘Monster of the Mist’,” Kisame explained.

“What a fitting title,” you blurted out, for what meant to be a joke. You realized it wasn’t a good time for a joke and you immediately covered your mouth with your hand and glanced up at your teammate to see if he was angry. _Kami, (y/n)! Would it kill for you to read the room sometimes!_

Kisame laughed and ruffled your hair in response. “Nice one, squirt. Though eventually, I also defected from Kiri after I was accused of treason and the like. I finally wound up here, in the Akatsuki,” he finished.

You were taking all of this in. _What a tough life he lived…_

“Thanks for telling me, Kisame. I don’t know if ‘interesting’ would be an appropriate way to describe your life, but I’m sorry you experienced all of that…” you told him.

“All good, it is what it is. The world is full of lies; what we all need is a world of truth…” Kisame said ominously.

Before you could ask Kisame to elaborate on his statement, he asked, “So what about you, squirt? You’re still pretty young… What was your life like before the Akatsuki? What was your family like?”

You scratched your head awkwardly, contemplating how you should answer him. You only ever told Itachi about your past and Itachi was very kind about it, even bringing you to a revelation of how you want to continue the rest of your life. You weren’t sure of how Kisame would react, but since he told you about his past, you decided to do the same.

“Well, it’s a bit of a long story. I was born in a civilian town in the Land of Water, so I never really interacted with shinobi other than my mother. My mother retired from her shinobi lifestyle, as you know, and became a koto player. My dad on the other hand… He was a total piece of shit,” you paused for a bit. Kisame smirked at your description of your dad but he didn’t interrupt and waited for you to continue.

“My dad had always been abusive towards my mother and I… I think that triggered something in me, leading me to lose control of my kekkei genkai. My mother taught me how to control my abilities, but I kind of secretly stole her scrolls to learn forbidden jutsus and such. While all that was happening, I was brewing a lot of resentment for my dad. To put the story short, I eventually murdered my entire family out of spite. I ran away from the town I was born and started afresh as a civilian… But the Akatsuki recruited me and now I’m here,” you explained.

Kisame felt bad for all the negative experiences you had and what it led up to. He was surprised that, even with all the trauma you’ve experienced, you were still so kind, as shown by your willingness to stand up for Tobi and your selfless actions.

“I’m sorry to hear all that happened to you, (y/n). I know I taunted you a lot for being weak before, but you’re a strong gal,” Kisame offered, giving you a toothy grin.

You blushed, surprised that the strong shinobi complimented you for your strength. “Ah, that means a lot coming from you,” you said shyly. Kisame appreciated your humbleness.

The two of you continued to travel for the mission while making small talk. You asked him various questions, such as why he had pointy teeth, or whether Samehada was alive. Kisame gladly answered all your questions with a chuckle. He didn’t think you had so many questions about him, making him feel slightly flustered with all the attention you were giving him. Kisame was holding back the urge to give you a bear hug for being such a cutie.

As the two of you were walking, Kisame suddenly stuck his arm out in front of you to stop you from walking. The two of you paused and you sensed that the two of you were surrounded by numerous shinobi. The two of you appeared calm, but your heart was racing like crazy. _Are we getting ambushed?!_

Kisame unwielded Samehada from his back and you formed ice shards in your hands for defense.

“Monster of the Mist, I see… And who is that beside you?” A voice called out.

_Kami! Kisame must be famous…_

“Why don’t you cowards reveal yourselves? What use is to hide behind the trees? Let Samehada have a taste of your tasty chakra,” Kisame replied tauntingly.

At a blink of an eye, 10+ shinobi leapt out from the trees, all brandishing the same headbands. You did not recognize which village they belonged to due to your limited knowledge.

You and Kisame stood back-to-back, both standing in defensive stances. You nervously gulped, eying your opponents, who were staring daggers back at you.

“What are you doing in our territory? You and your comrade are not welcome!” One of the shinobi called out.

“My, my. Let’s not make this difficult. My comrade and I are on an assignment. Now if you move along and stop being a hindrance…” Kisame said. You almost heard the smirk in his voice.

“Tough luck! Don’t let them pass!” the man ordered.

The shinobi began to charge towards you and Kisame. You wanted to ask Kisame if it was best to escape, but it appeared that Kisame made no intention to leave and was eager to battle. You knew you couldn’t abandon your teammate, thus you stayed. 

You used mainly taijutsu to fend off your attackers. You wanted to avoid killing any more people and you held yourself back from using any lethal attacks. You temporarily disabled them by freezing them on the spot, causing them to grunt in frustration due to immobility.

You turned around to check up on your teammate but was met by the scene of horror.

The shinobi who were attacking Kisame ended up dead, all their bodies were badly mutilated, thanks to Samehada. You gasped and Kisame turned around to face you.

“Squirt, do you need help?” he asked out of concern.

You froze in place, clearly shocked by Kisame’s efficiency. Kisame walked towards the frozen survivors. Closing your eyes, you heard loud screams escaping from your frozen opponents, knowing it was the last sound they’d ever make. _They were only doing their job to protect their village, but were brutally murdered by one man… No wonder he is the Monster of the Mist._

“Come on, squirt, let’s go!” he called.

You nodded in reply.

At the end of the day, despite becoming friends with the giant, there was still a great difference between you and the Monster of the Mist: you never felt satisfaction from committing murder, while your teammate seemed to get a kick out of it. You shuddered.

 _I don’t have what it takes to be an Akatsuki member… My new goals in life don’t exactly align with what the group does… What should I do?_ you silently wondered, while following your comrade to complete the mission. You gave a final look at the pile of slaughtered shinobi, of which you immediately regretted. 

\---

The two of you had completed the mission successfully. Ever since you and Kisame were ambushed, he noted you acting distant and sullen. During the ambush, he was aware you didn’t finish off your opponents and he wasn’t sure if your change in mood was related to that.

“Hey squirt, you alright? You’ve been kind of quiet,” he asked. His question shook you out of your trance.

“O-oh, sorry. I’m alright, just feeling a bit tired,” you lied. To be frank, you were spacing out due to feeling conflicted with your current predicament.

Kisame was a seasoned shinobi and he easily could tell you were lying, but he decided not to question further. Instead, he wanted to make you feel better.

“How about we grab some dinner before we head back to the base? My treat,” Kisame offered while smiling.

Realizing how hungry you were, you beamed at Kisame and took up his offer. “That sounds great! I am quite famished…” you admitted.

The two of you walked to a small restaurant. You took Kisame’s offer seriously and ordered to your heart’s content. Kisame ogled at the amount of food you ordered, wondering how such a small person could eat so much. Noticing his shocked expression, you assured him that you ordered the food to share with him.

Once the food came, your face lit up. You said your thanks and started munching happily on the different delicacies. You were excitedly telling him which dishes were your favourite, pushing the dishes for him to try.

 _Food does do wonder, huh? The squirt seems to be all better again,_ Kisame thought to himself, watching you eat. He didn’t know that watching someone eat could bring him so much joy.

After the big meal, Kisame paid the tab. “Thank you so much for the meal, Kisame! It was so good!” you exclaimed.

Kisame chuckled. “No problem at all, squirt. Now let’s get going,” he said.

It was starting to get late into the night and the two of you were still travelling. The two of you were not too far off from the base, hence there was no point of staying overnight at an inn. Your constant yawns signaled to Kisame that you were exhausted.

“Why don’t we rest for a bit? You seem tired,” he suggested.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to hold us up, I’ll be okay,” you replied while stifling a yawn.

“Don’t think I didn’t catch that! No harm in resting a bit. Let’s sit down here,” he said. Kisame placed his giant sword by the tree and sat down next to it.

You reluctantly agreed and you sat down next to your comrade.

Your eyelids were feeling heavy and they began to droop down, causing you to nod off.

As Kisame was looking around the area to keep guard, he noticed a slight thud onto his arm. He looked down and saw your sleeping figure leaning onto his arm.

Your peaceful face was mesmerizing, especially under the pale moonlight; perhaps one of the only times Kisame has seen you fully off-guard.

Kisame didn’t mind that you used him as a pillow; he was grateful that you felt comfortable around him to be able to fall asleep. Kisame thought about how far along you and his friendship had developed, cherishing the moments he got to spend with you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everybody for reading!  
> I left the attacking shinobi unnamed because I thought it wasn't an important detail, rather it was to highlight Kisame's prowess and sadistic tendencies. I tried to use this chapter to point out Reader's growing dissonance with her newly found life goals and the Akatsuki, although at the same time, she grows to become closer with the members.  
> What are your thoughts?
> 
> * Please read side fic, "Breaking the Ice: Fragments" Chapter 5!


	17. *not part of the story*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please read below!!!

Hi everyone! I noticed in the comments that people want more Reader x Certain Akatsuki member fluff!

I already have the rest of the story planned out, but I don't mind adding some more fluffy content in the main fic and side fic :) 

So if you don't mind commenting which characters you want to see more of, please do so! 

For heads up (I don't want to spoil too much), the next chapter I planned will include Tobi and Zetsu.

Thank you and have a great day!!


End file.
